Twenty Five
by LoliMochi
Summary: Tristis Memoria is a mysterious girl with a huge fear of the number twenty-five. When they meet her, they feel intrigued by her persona. However, for Triss, this isn't the first time... It's been much more... OC X Angeal. Time Travel! AU [Discontinued until further notice, check profile.]
1. Prologue Endless Cycle

_Hey guys, this is my first story uploaded!  
>I hope you enjoy it and I"m sorry if the prologue is a bit short... <em>

__I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot.__

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong> - _Endless Cycle_

She sat there like a tattered doll. The room was neat, aligned perfectly with no clutter or mess around to tarnish her image of being the organised woman she was. On one side of the room was a large window supporting a soft seat to watch the shadows of buildings dance with the flickering street lights. The sky was black with millions of diamonds scattered around. They were beautiful, yet pale in comparison with the large full moon overhanging everything down below. The window was slightly open to let the night breeze brush by her rosy cheeks. She looked like the perfect picture, posing and ready for a victim to be entranced.

The woman was wearing a scarlet sinlet that hugged her body, revealing how curvy she really was. She wore denim navy blue pants, black combat boots, black fingerless gloves and a pink ribbon tired around her upper right arm. In her left hand, she held a small silver and golden trinket... Bells... They tinkled as she slowly moved her hand and adjusted herself into a more comfortable position. She was sitting at the window, her back leaning against the wall with one leg up and the other laying limply down. The hand with the bells rested upon her knee while the other just lay on the thigh of her resting leg. Her dim emerald eyes were staring at something far, far away. Something she held so dear too.

Memories.

She could hear several voices down below the wooden floorboards. Ones that were familiar- maybe _too_ familiar now. She had heard them speak over the many years... The teasing banters, the cheerful chatter and the soft grunts of agreement.

_Nothing has changed..._ She thought. _Nothing at all..._

She wished she could think of something else other than how familiar everything was to her now, but she couldn't... Because, just like she had thought... _Nothing has changed..._ Because nothing really has. No matter how many times she tried, how much sweat and blood she had released during the years... _Nothing has changed_.

And that really irked her. Even though a couple of days ago, it was her birthday and her friends were still probably partying because of it, she somehow still felt depressed.

"Cheer up! It's your twenty-fifth birthday!" Her friend had told her that day.

She dreaded that number. The number twenty-five meant so many things to her. She hated it beyond anything else, yet it gave her small comfort. The meaning behind the two digit number was incredible. It meant redemption, pain, happiness, friends, lovers, worries and fears.

She has had enough of worries and fears. They were endless to her... Nothing but pressure pushing down on her, weighing her down and making her even more depressed. The number twenty-five made her gears go reeling into action and therefore, made her incredibly moody. The number meant nothing but an endless cycle.

She hated that number. Sometimes she wondered why'd even bother having such a fear for it.

Slowly, she closed her eyes and felt the breeze brush against her skin once again. She could hear tinkling bells, ringing twenty-five times. She could hear sweet whispers. "It is time..." It said.

It was then that she remembered why she dreaded the number twenty-five. After all, how could she forget completely? Because really, _nothing has changed at all..._

_It means everything to me..._


	2. Sleeping Underneath The Banora Whites

_Hey again guys!  
>Please enjoy and don't be afraid to review.<em>

__I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot.__

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong> - _Sleeping Under the Banora Whites_

Genesis was just a young boy when he had began reading large, text filled books. He was so engrossed with the meanings and themes behind each book that he had sometimes forgotten to eat lunch. He was a young boy with crimson hair and matching eyes. His skin was slightly more pale than others for the mere reason that he hardly went out much. He didn't _really_ have anyone to play with and he always had his books.

He was luckier than other children. His father owned a large orchard of Banora whites. The sweet apples were coloured of gradients of blue and purple and was one of his favourite things. They were also referred as 'Dumbapples' because the trees seemed to bear fruit in random seasons. They were never in sync and it always left Genesis wondering why.

"Genesis." A boy's voice was heard.

His wooden door opened to reveal a boy his age. He had raven black hair, hazel eyes and a friendly smile upon his lips. "Angeal." Genesis said as he placed his book down.

"Stuck up here reading again?" His friend asked.

He got nothing but a shrug in return, "Nothing else to do."

"What are you talking about? We can go outside and play around the dumbapple orchard."

Genesis didn't really care, as long as he wasn't bored. Angeal was always a great friend. Sure, his social status was lower than his, but it didn't really matter. His parents weren't so hung up with the society status and how to treat others differently crap. So they ventured outside and gathered some sticks. They decided to play sword fighting. They imagined that the orchard was an unfamiliar jungle filled with fiends ready to eat them up. There was no doubt that this was a fun game... Maybe it was a _tiny_ bit better than reading all the time. Only by a little bit though.

"Oh no! Look out for the dragon!" Angeal called out.

They ducked down and began swinging their sticks at the invisible monster, making fake clanging noises as their swords came in contact with the dragon scales. "I'll take it from behind!" He bravely shouted as he disappeared behind a tree, only to reappear a few steps away, facing his friend. He imagined climbing up on the dragon like a real hero and slaying it with Angeal. "We did it!" They grinned childishly at eachother.

As they cheered for themselves, Genesis noticed a younger girl. Her innocent green eyes were bright as she stared in awe. She was wearing a light blue sundress and white sandals with a bow on them. She was also holding a small white teddy bear in her arms. "Hello." Angeal greeted softly to the little girl.

She squeaked and hid behind a tree, peaking out with her brown side ponytail swaying. They laughed at her behavior before approaching her slowly. "My name is Genesis and this is Angeal. What's your name?"

She looked at them curiously before stepping out of her hiding space while clutching her bear. "T-Tristis." She mumbled.

"Want to play with us?"

"C-Can I?" She squeaked.

Angeal nodded, "We haven't seen you before. Are you new here?"

She shuffled her feet nervously, "M-Mommy and daddy say we're going to come here in Summer for a little while."

There was no more talking after that. They played with the sticks as swords, although Angeal and Genesis did go easy on her because she was a girl and she was younger. Angeal had gotten out a ball to play catch with as well. But what was most fun was playing tag, since two player tag didn't really work out. Tristis was surprisingly sneaky and quite fast so it was really hard catching her, but Genesis liked a good challenge.

It was nice to hear her squeal and laugh, but they were soon too tired to play, so they laid down on the grass. She leaned against a tree in the cool shade while Genesis and Angeal laid their heads on either side of her lap because the ground was too hard for them. Just like that, they fell asleep with the cool breeze brushing past them, lulling them to sleep.

With their hands linked together, they slept with sweet dreams in mind, having the shade and trees shield them from any prying eyes...

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><p><em>I'm sorry if they seem OOC... I just thought little boys would behave that way. And I'm sure Angeal's and Genesis's eyes weren't mako blue when they were children, only after getting mako injections should that happen. But even so, I thought Genesis and Angeal's eyes weren't mako blue. I always thought Angeal's would be midnight blue while Genesis's was red... I thought they were experiments and weren't tampered with mako... But oh well, please correct me (in a review) if I'm wrong.<em>

_I really hope you enjoyed this chapter (even though I hate how short it seems). I'll make the other chapters longer, but these few chapters aren't that important. They're only emphasising about how mysterious Tristis is and how they first met her as children._

_Thank you!  
>-LoliMochi<em>


	3. Secrets Underneath The Clear Blue Sky

_Wow... I probably won't be as productive as I am now in the future, but I'm glad I've managed to finish another chapter. And why are the titles always 'underneath' something? Hmm... I wonder..._

_I haven't played FFVII before (I've only watched my brother play or talk about it) but I've read many fan fictions that implies Cloud was very shy and was often bullied when he was younger. Don't worry, in future chapters I'll make him stronger and more braver._

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Two <strong>- _Secrets Underneath the Clear Blue Sky_

Cloud was considered smaller than most of the other boys in his town. He was a weaker and much more quiet, resulting in him being the weirdo out of the whole village. But there was one little girl that was considered weirder...

Tristis.

He had first met the girl by accidently bumping into her when she first arrived at the small country village. She was smaller than him, making her fall to the ground. He had repeatedly apologised while helping brush the dust off her white sundress. He was ready for the angry remarks and bratty huffs... But he only received a giggle and a smile.

"It's okay. I'm Tristis."

"Cloud." He mumbled shyly.

He never understood how mature she could be, even though she was at the same, young tender age as him. They had become friends in just a matter of minutes. Maybe it was because how lonely Cloud felt without anyone to play with. He was, after all, inferor to the other kids. "No you're not. You're better than them." She said firmly.

"No I'm not..."

They were sitting behind Cloud's house on a patch of lush grass. His mother was so estastic about him having a friend over that she basically begged Tristis to come whenever she wanted. Tristis didn't need to be begged, she was Cloud's friend, she didn't need any sweets to tempt her. "Yes you are. None of the other kids would save a poor chick from getting eaten by monsters. You climbed such a big tree to bring it back home. That makes you a hero!"

There was another weird thing about Tristis. She had this way of making everyone feel better about themselves. She told him about how her parents travelled everywhere... How she became friends with two boys from a place called Banora. Their names were Genesis and Angeal. She told him about how much she missed them and how much she wanted them to become heroes. Her stories and adventures of other places made him feel much more curious and outgoing.

"I want to protect the ones I love. Like my mom." Cloud told her suddenly.

He was expecting to laugh in his face, because that's what all the other children would do. But instead, she smiled such a pure innocent smile that it made _him_ smile. "I know you can do that, Cloudy. There's no doubt about it!" She said, twirling around, one of the rare moments when she really acted like a child.

"How about you? What are your dreams?" Her twirls slowed down and soon, her back was faced to him and her head slightly tilted up to peer up into the vast blue sky. She was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, her hands behind her back with her long brown hair swaying in the cool breeze.

"An angel." She said, "I want to become an angel."

He scrunched up his face in confusion, "Why?"

She made a '_hmmm_' noise as she once again, began slowly twirling though her bright green eyes still stared into the sky above. "Because angels are meant to save people. Angels take care of people and do whatever it takes for their friends and family to be safe."

For some reason, Cloud felt like she had reverted back into her mature persona as she spoke. He could _already_ imagine her as an adult. She would lose the chubby cheeks and instead, have a slim, youthful visage with the same emerald eyes. She would be taller, have a slightly lower pitched voice than the one she had now, yet over all, she wouldn't of changed much. He especially hoped she wouldn't cut her beautiful brown hair. No one in the village had grown their hair to be so long, not even Tifa Lockhart, his neighbour. There was another thing she would not go anywhere without... The bells. He didn't know why she always wore bells _somewhere_ on her body. It was either as a hair ornament, on her clothes or as a bracelet, anklet or necklace.

"My mom said angels are really nice people." He said after a moment.

"I heard that from my mom too." She replied.

"Then, aren't you already an angel?" He asked innocently, yet he couldn't help but let his cheeks tint a _tiny_ shade of pink.

Tristis glanced at him and he stiffened in waiting for her reaction. "W-Well, you are helping me right now, you know. You're my first friend and-" He spluttered.

"Thank you." She smiled.

He froze, seeing a small tear trickle from the corner of her eyes. "T-Triss, you're crying."

"Huh?" She touched her cheek and he watched helplessly as her pink lips began to quiver, "Oh... I must be so happy that I'm crying." She pointed out, her voice cracking slightly.

She opened her small slim arms, "Want a hug?" He knew she was implying that she needed a shoulder to cry on. He had seen many people in the village do that before. He went towards her and wrapped his arms around her small frame, he somehow still couldn't believe that she was smaller than him.

Most of the other children would be barfing in disgust from seeing them together like that. "Girl cooties" they would chant. But Cloud didn't care if anyone would see them. Tristis had taught him a valuable lesson... that he should be more confident in himself and that if he set his mind to it, he could be far more mature than the kids that chant and tease about playing with a girl. Tristis was like that, she cared for everyone and had a open mind, but never stated her opinion unless necessary. She could become friends with anyone and teach them a life lesson that would make them be a better person... He knew because that was what she did to him every second of every day since she had arrived in Nibelhelm.

"Cloud."

"Hm?"

"Do you want to know a secret?" Her eyes gleamed as she glanced at him, pulling back from the hug.

Cloud was stunned because no one really told him secrets. He only had his own. "S-Sure."

"I've met angels before." She whispered quietly, as if someone else was trying to listen to her, "There's five of them."

He couldn't help but smile, the way she mentioned them, her voice soft and far more sweeter than it usually was, expressed that they were vital in her life.

"I've met an angel before too." He whispered back shyly.

Her emerald eyes widened, yet twinkled with happiness, "Who?"

He tried saying it out loud, but it only resulted in incoherent mumbles. She was paitent to hear him, so he gathered up his courage and whispered in her ear...

"You."

It earned him a grateful smile and the best feeling in his heart.

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><p><em>Did this seem a bit... romantic? Because that's not exactly what I was aiming for. I just thought children would act like this because they don't understand the meaning of romance and are blunt about compliments. Cloud only thinks angels are kind people- hence thinking Tristis is an angel, because she is kind.<br>What are your opinions about this?  
>I'm also wondering on a pairing. I've let my friend read this story and she already thinks Tristis should go with Cloud... But I think Angeal needs some loving too. Besides, Cloud has Tifa... right?<br>By the way, Zack is obviously going to go with Aerith because they're just perfect for eachother._

_Thanks for reading, have a good day!_


	4. A Hero's Promise

_The last chapter I upload today. I need to go to sleep, its 11:25pm and I have school tomorrow... Fail x_x_

_Again, I do not own anything other than the plot twists and the character Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium. Final Fantasy VII character's and the game itself belongs to Square Enix._

_Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong> - _A Hero's Promise_

Gongaga was a place with pleasant warmth from both the people and the jungle air. A backwater village, although hotter than the icy cold Nibelheim which was situated near high mountains. Perharps that is the reason why most of the children were so much more tanned then that strange girl with travelling parents.

When Zack had first met her, he felt a strange liking towards her. Even as a young boy, he knew that she was considered far more prettier than most of the girls and he wasn't afraid to admit it because he knew it was true. He felt his heart quicken whenever he saw her and he had told his mom, which resulted her in dropping a plate. "My boy is hitting puberty much faster than most boys..." His mom mumbled, shaking her head.

He was sure whatever this 'puberty' thing was, it was not the case of his strange feelings. He felt protective of her and excited to see her... Almost like... Almost like a sister. He always wanted to be a big brother, no matter how many of his friends complained about having bratty younger siblings. The pale girl seemed to fit the role perfectly.

Tristis was much more smarter than any child in the village too. She didn't cry about someone ripping her dolls, she would hold her head up high, smile pleasantly and fix it with a needle and thread. She also enjoyed playing in the mud with him, unlike the other girls, that was _bonus_ points. He thought they were the greatest pair in the world because he was so much more daring (although his mother repeatedly sighed and said that he was just stupid or silly) and outgoing than anyone else. He wanted to be a hero and she'd rather be his side-kick... His heroine rather than a princess in need of rescue.

"What's it like to travel the world?" He asked her once.

They were lying on the ground with dirt and ferns within their hair. They had just defeated an evil man that Tristis named Hojo.

"It's fun, but it can be scary." She answered softly, reaching out her smooth hands to ruffle his spiky raven hair.

"Scary? How is it scary?" He asked, rolling onto his side to look into her eyes.

He noticed how pretty her eyes were. They were sparkling like stars... But they weren't the same color as stars. It was his most favourite shade of green, much more beautiful than any fern in the jungle... And he knew a lot of ferns from roaming around there throughout his years.

His thoughts disappeared when he waited for her answer. At first, he could only hear her steady breathing with her eyelids slipping over his favourite pair of green eyes as she began to think deeply. Then, she smiled, though her eyes were still closed. "Because it's like this... Everything is so mysterious and you don't know where you're going or who you're going to meet. Try it, Zack. You'll know what I mean."

He did so, listening intensly for anything familiar. He realised just how foreign things seemed. Even as a bee buzzed by, he thought it was a fly until Tristis told him differently.

"I get it. But what makes it fun?" He asked.

She giggled childishly, yet Zack could somehow detect a familiar tone to it, almost reminding him of a young woman's laughter.

"Meeting new friends like you Zack."

He grinned, showing his pearly whites, "Really?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded and rolled over to fully face him.

Again, his heart quickened again. It was hard to explain, it was almost like he was connected to her... A connection he _knew_ was his alone. He reached out to hold her hand which was smooth except for the parts smothered with crusting mud. "You're my best friend, ya know?"

She nodded, gripping tightly onto his in return, "I know."

"And that no matter where you go, I'll be with you." It seemed right to say that, even though logically, it didn't make any sense.

She nodded again, resulting in him scrunching his face. "You're not even going to ask how?"

Tristis giggled, a wonderful musical sound that was carried away easily by the wind. "Do you want me to ask you?"

He frowned, big brown eyes widening to give her the best puppy eyes he could muster. It worked countless of times on adults and other children his age, older or younger. He never tried it on his best friend though, but he was confident it would work. He pursed his lips to pout and tried to muster up some alligator tears. "Okay. How will you do that, Zack?" She asked sincerely, without a hint of sarcasim and accompanied with a warm smile.

He puffed his chest out in triumph, "I'll give you something _very_ important to me. So you can always think of me like how best friends should."

Her smile seemed to widen, "Can I give you something too?"

He nodded eagerly, "Sure!"

"So, it's like a promise, right? To never forget eachother as long as we have those things, right?"

He thought for a while. It did seem like it. Now that he thought of it, heroes were meant to keep their promises. So if he swore on it as a hero, that meant he couldn't take it back nor break it. That was the perfect reassurance for his friend!

"I promise as a hero!" He grinned, holding out his pinky, waiting for her to intertwine them.

"Un!" Their pinkies connected and his heart swelled with pride, happiness and many more emotions, "I promise as a heroine!"

They stared into eachother's eyes before letting peals of laughter escape from their lips. It was so exciting for Zack! He had just made such an important promise it made him feel so much more cool like a real hero!

True to his word, a month had passed by since the promise and Tristis was packed to go back to exploring the world. Zack had hurriedly over to the outskirts of the village and to the rocky, dusty main road. "Triss!" He shouted at her, gaining her attention.

He ran right into her arms, almost tipping them over if he had not tipped slightly to the left to regain their balance. "I... Hah... I came as fast as I could... Hah..." He panted.

He heard her giggle and pulled back from their hug to see her smiling sweetly. "You didn't need too. I would have waited. We have a promise to keep, remember?"

Zack reached into his shorts and pulled out a bracelet. It was a colorful beaded bracelet with two white feathers attached to it, as well as silver bells. He heard her gasp and he grinned at her awed expression, "I-It's so pretty, Zack."

He helped her put it on without any hesitation and proudly looked at his work (as well as the help of his mom). Yes, he was right about using so many different colors. Every color suited her just like how she could go anywhere and make a friend. The only thing that didn't turn out quite as right was the size. But it was fine, it meant that when she was older, she'd still be able to wear it. In turn, she pulled out her small trinket for him. He didn't get a good look at it because she had already hooked it around his neck. The chain was very loose and dangled at his chest. It was a necklace with a silver pair of wings as it's pendant. "Look at the back." She said.

He did so and got a great surprise. On the back of the wings, there was words engraved into it, almost messily but he knew it was hard to write on metal- or whatever material she used to make it. _Zack Fair, The Hero._

They shared a smile before giving eachother one last hug. "I'm going to miss you." He whispered.

"Don't be silly, Zack. We'll see eachother again. I promise you that."

He laughed at her confidence, but then again, this was Tristis he was talking about. Of course she'd kept her promise. "A heroine's promise?"

She nodded, placing their foreheads together, nose to nose.

_"Definitely."_

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><p><em>Ugh, too romantic again? I dunno. I tried to make it seem more like childish friendship or even brother-sister feeling. I'm a bit sleepy now, I might edit later.<em>

_See you later, thank you for reading!_


	5. Following The Bells

_Here we are, chapter four!  
>Enjoy!<em>

_Again, I do not own anything other than the plot twists and the character Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium. Final Fantasy VII character's and the game itself belongs to Square Enix._

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><p><strong>Chapter 4 <strong>- _Following The Bells_

Zack had entered as a SOLDIER at the age of sixteen and had bumped up the ranks until he was finally a second-class. Now, he was the student of 19 year old first class SOLDIER, Angeal Hewley.

Zack was indeed lucky to have Angeal as his mentor. He acted older than his age and was gentle yet firm with his beliefs. All of Angeal's talk about honor, pride and dreams was stuck in his head. Infact, his mentor reminded him slightly of a certain girl.

He touched the necklace dangling at his chest, the angel wings gave him a soothing feeling that left him wondering if his childhood friend really did work some type of magic onto it because she definitely seemed to have the magical touch.

"Are you going to go see the cadets?" A voice from behind sounded.

It was Genesis, the other first class SOLDIER and childhood friend of his mentor. His mako blue eyes peered into his violet ones. He had always wondered what color they were before the change from the substance.

Mako was something that was part of the life stream- the world's blood basically. SOLDIERs were injected with mako to give them extra strength, speed and heightened senses.

"Yeah. I heard it's fun to watch." Zack replied smoothly.

They chuckled together before moving towards the training rooms, where the test were held.

When they had arrived, Zack was particularly shocked to see Angeal squinting his eyes in confusion. He was so focused on the new cadets that the normally relaxed, yet alert mentor didn't even flinch when they slammed the door shut. Curiously, Zack peered to the other side of the glass to see how the cadets were doing. They were doing one on one duels to see how many moves they could do and how they could fight with pressure of knowing one of the famous SOLDIERs was assessing them harshly.

He was once in that room with Angeal doing the exact same thing. He was so nervous that he found it hard to stay still in the same line when they were instructing what to do. However, when it came to the sparring, he was a master at hand to hand combat.

"I give up!" A cadet yelped as he was thrown to the ground by another.

It looked fairly impossible to do so when the winner was smaller then him with a slim figure. He was wearing a helmet that covered his whole face from being seen which was a disadvantage to him because helmets weren't usually known for the _great_ field of vision it gave the owner.

"The fifth one..." Angeal mumbled.

"The fifth what?" He asked.

Angeal finally glanced at him, his eyes widening for a moment as he realised he was not alone before calmly looking back to the cadets, "The fifth cadet he's beaten."

_He's that good?_ Zack thought. He had remembered on his test, he had only managed to defeat three because the lack of time. He tried inspecting the cadet further, but it was hard when he was already sparring with a new person. Man, was he good. He was flexible and agile.

But one thing caught his eye most. There was something colorful underneath his long sleeves. Something on his wrist... He could barely see it as they were fighting, but Zack could definitely tell it was familiar just from a glance. Unconciously, he reached for his necklace, tracing the curve of the wings against it's smooth surface. He began to close his eyes, exactly the way his childhood friend had taught him.

He ignored the soft breathing of Genesis and Angeal, the grunts of fighting men and thumps of fists... He was sure that if he listened hard enough, he would hear what he wanted. He could already imagine each thump belonging to the cadet wearing the helmet as his punch collided at his opponent.

Then he heard it. It was very quiet, almost non-existent. But it was still there... The sound of chiming bells. _Her bracelet!_ He thought. It must have been the bracelet he had made of his childhood friend. _That doesn't make any sense…_ He thought. He had given the bracelet to his childhood friend whom happened to be _female_. The person he was staring at was a male, although there was no obvious bulk of muscle nor face to prove it.

He began worrying and struggling to think of a proper explanation… But he couldn't even imagine anything but a poor little Tristis lying on the road bleeding from a ferocious attack from monsters as she travelled. The cadet might of taken it and that made Zack's temper flare. There was no other way, after all, Tristis would never sell or give it away… She had given him a heroine's promise, as naïve as that sounds.

"Times up." Angeal spoke before exiting through the door to meet face to face with all the cadets. They saluted him with so much respect relfecting in their star struck eyes, except for Mr. Helmet boy but Zack was sure he'd be doing the same thing as the rest.

There was another cadet that caught his eye. The cadet had spiky blonde hair with sky blue eyes. He almost mistook them as mako eyes.

"You six stay here, the rest leave." His mentor instructed, gesturing to the six men, including helmet boy and the other one he noticed.

If looks could kill, Angeal's stern expression would have made them melt. The blonde-haired boy kept a straight face, yet Zack could see his fists shaking with nerves while the mysterious cadet just stayed dead still. The rest of the cadets figetted uneasily, although one or two did look slightly more confident than the rest. "Congratulations, you've passed the test. We just need to check if you're stable for mako in your system and you'll be in SOLDIER."

They all cheered, given eachother high fives and pats of the back. They were about to exit, but Zack quickly found his moment to speak up, "Hey, wait! Helmet guy, come back here!" He called out, grasping his arm to stop him.

He went rigid, yet let Zack drag him into a position so they could face each other. "Pull up your sleeve. I need to see something."

"Zack, leave him alone." Angeal spoke out, but Zack quickly cut him off.

"It's important, Angeal."

He knew his mentor trusted him not to do anything stupid with the new recruit, so he backed off. He stared at the boy, trying not to look unfriendly although the thought of Tristis was burned into his mind. "Can you pull up your sleeve?"

The boy hesitated before pulling up both sleeves. His eyes saw the beaded bracelet. _So it was true..._ He thought. "Where did you get it?"

He didn't reply. "Did you steal it?" His eyes hardened as he stared accusingly at the silent recruit.

"... No... It was given to me by a friend." The voice was soft, muffled by the helmet... But something seemed off. It made him seem like a pervert, but Zack was sure a man's skin couldn't be as smooth as the recruit had.

"Take off your helmet." He demanded, which caused the recruit to flinch and pull his wrist away.

Angeal grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, "Zack, I don't know what's going on, but just because that bracelet isn't important."

Zack felt his temper flare again, "You don't get it, Angeal! That's the exact bracelet I gave my friend! I _made_ that bracelet, there is no way he could have it!"

Seeing as Zack was being stubborn again, Angeal sighed and shook his head. "Take of your helmet, recruit. It's the only thing that can calm him down."

Again, the boy was hesitant but eventually brought his hand up to his helmet and pulled it off. But it wasn't a boy... The face was prim with soft emerald eyes and beautiful brown hair rolling down her back until it stopped near her hips. Her pink lips were curved into a sheepish smile. "Happy now?"

The world seemed to have stopped at that moment as Zack's thoughts began to process the whole situation. _This girl? No way... Impossible..._ Zack's eyes were wide as he examined every inch of her body. Her eyes! They were exactly the same as long before. His favourite shade of emerald green.

"T-Tristis?" He stuttered weakly.

Her smile softened and her eyelids drooped to give an apologetic stare, "Sorry. I didn't know if SOLDIER accepted girls or not, so I had to keep quiet."

The next few moments were all a blur as he scooped Tristis up into his arms and twirled her around, "You're really here! You're alive and well and... And you're just... Here!" Zack laughed hysterically before roughly placing her down to look at Angeal.

"This is the girl I was always talking about, Angeal! My childhood friend!"

Angeal was in shock, but quickly regained himself with a shake of the head. He also recognised this girl. Although she was much older since he had last seen her with Genesis. He almost couldn't believe it. The fragile little girl was now a young woman strong enough to take down five men that were all larger and probably older than her. "It's nice to see you again, Angeal. It's been a long time..."

He shook his head again, "Appearing out of nowhere after disappearing for so many years." He muttered before looking into her eyes. "Genesis looked all over for you, he almost got injured thinking you had fallen down somewhere."

"I'm sorry. My parents suddenly had the spirit to go travelling again, I didn't have the chance to even tell you." She explained sincerely.

He gave her a small smile, "Don't worry, you're here now. Even though we'll need to explain the situation with Lazard."

* * *

><p><em>Do any of them sound OOC? I hope not... This chapter was really hard to write... I don't really know why...<br>Anyways, so there we have it! Tristis Memoria is now in SOLDIER and is reunited with two of the childhood friends!  
>Of course the blonde kid was Cloud. Genesis and Cloud will most likely be in the next chapter. Hopefully, I can put in a bit of humour with a bit of Zack's stupidity and pranks!<br>The target? Most likely Angeal, Genesis or Sephiroth. The poor elders, haha joking._

_Have a good day and thank you for reading (and reviewing if you are going to or have done so!)_

_-LoliMochi._


	6. Bonus Chapter 1

**IF YOU WANT TO KEEP TRISTIS MYSTERIOUS **

**DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER. **

**SPOILERS/CLUES ARE INSIDE.**

_This chapter was inspired from listening to some really sad music. I couldn't help but write a bonus chapter about how Tristis would of felt when Cloud was being all angst in Advent Children.  
><em>_This chapter is about her past, on her third life cycle to be correct. If you don't understand, do not worry. Later on in the real chapters, you'll find out what I mean by life cycles._

_Enjoy!_

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

* * *

><p><strong>Memory Chapter 1 <strong>- _Not Good Enough _

"I'm not good enough to be with them." Cloud said, his head hanging low in shame.

Cloud was sitting down on the edge of the cliff with Tristis standing behind him. The buster sword was stabbed into the dusty ground with the waste land surrounding them.

"Don't say that. I told you that you are good enough for anything." She wisely said.

He shook his head, his eyes focusing on the ground below still. "You don't understand... I will only bring them danger..."

She scoffed, "Liar. You can _protect_ them from danger."

He didn't say anything and they stood with an uncomfortable silence. "You have geostigma, don't you?" She whispered, gently touching his covered arm.

"Yes."

She smiled, "Then we better find a cure, right? After we deal with all this, we can just go back home and relax and live happily."

Cloud tightened his hands into fists, "There is no cure." His voice was void of any emotions, yet his eyes held were banked with them... Guilt, sorrow and uncertainty.

"So that's it? You're just going to give up and wait for death?" Tristis's voice suddenly strained with hidden frustration. "For Gaia's sake, Cloud! Denzel is a young kid with geostigma and _he_ hasn't given up! What is he going to think when his role model gives up, huh?"

"He was wrong to chose me as a role model."

He heard a crack of knuckles clenching as she began to shake, "Don't you dare say anymore."

"I'm not even supposed to be here." He continued.

"Cloud, stop it-"

"I don't even know why he sacrificed himself for me-" There was a sudden slam and he was pulled back onto the ground, meeting her angered emerald eyes.

"I dare you to fucking say that again, Cloud! Do it and I'll make sure Tifa won't see your face anymore!" She growled, her fist aiming at his face.

His eyes suddenly hardened, "I couldn't save them!" He shouted.

"So that makes you unworthy? Zack sacrificed himself to save you! How can you even say your life isn't worth it? What happened to all his talk about dreams, pride and honor? What the fuck happened to it all, Cloud? How could you forget?" She cried, tears of anger slipping past her eyes and falling to his cheek.

He was astounded to see her so angered. He had never seen her like that before. Sadness, yes, but not anger like this. He hadn't even heard her curse before. "You're not the only one who is hurting! Aerith was my _sister_. I wish everyday that I should of swapped with her! I should of died saving the planet and letting her live happily! I should of been the one who got shot down by ShinRa to save you and Zack! I should of been the one to make Angeal and Genesis realise that they were not monsters! I should of been the one who reminded Sephiroth that he was still _human_ before he went insane!" Her voice cracked and her lilthe body was shaking badly that he feared she would collapse.

"I... I have so many regrets... I lived past every single one of them except this one... I could not save them... Do you know what it feels like to kill your own friend, Cloud? Sephiroth might have been insane at that time, but he was still my friend... The look of betrayal in his eyes are still in my mind, Cloud... And now, he may be returning again in his mad mind so we must kill him again... Twice, Cloud. Twice!" She screamed, "They didn't deserve that type of treatment! They were good men!"

Cloud hesitantly pulled her down for a hug and gently rubbed her back as she sobbed. "I'm sorry..." He whispered, "I forgot that we were meant to be in this together like partners... Like friends..." He looked up into the clear blue sky and he was sure that Aerith and Zack were staring down at them now.

After a minute Tristis had finally calmed down and she exhaled carefully. "My biggest regret was that I wasn't there for them, Cloud..." She said shakingly before continuing, "But you can still protect your friends- your _family_. But you need to be there for them first, no matter what."

He slowly nodded, the uncertainty in his eyes cleared, revealing a strong determined stare. He got onto his motorcycle, Fenrir and waited for a couple of seconds. When Tristis did not follow, he started his engine and rode off to the city, leaving her to calm down. A red cloaked man with black hair appeared beside her with unnatural speed.

"How old am I again, Vincent?" She asked, her eyes looking into the sky.

"In this life, you are twenty-three years old." His baritone voice sounded.

She stood still for a moment. "This is the third cycle... The third time I've watched this all happen..." She whispered and chuckled, although it was empty without any humour, "The third time I've watched this all happen... I'm surprised I haven't gone crazy. Watching Genesis defect... Watching Angeal die... Watching Sephiroth go crazy and Zack dying to save me and Cloud... Watching Cloud become a hero... It's all on replay and I can't change the past no matter how many times I try..."

The man known as Vincent placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't give up."

She laughed, "Giving up... I thought of it... Just letting myself rot... No matter how high I reach," She raised her arms up into the sky, as if to catch something, "I'll never be able to reach those wings I want... I'll never become an angel- a savior."

Her emerald eyes were glassy with tears she her body began to tremble again, "I just want to save them... Is that so much to ask? To let them live the life they deserve? I'd gladly give up my life to make that come true. For Aerith, Zack, Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis..."

"You're only feeling this because no one knows the price you pay for this. But I am sure that they're up in the life stream right now. They're probably thinking..." He hesitated before tightening his grip on her shoulder, "Thank you."

That one phrase made her body shake with tears sliding down her cheeks, her eyes closed and she began to whimper. She looked so pathetic, yet so strong and resolved. Yes, that was all she wanted to hear. To hear their voices, to feel their touch and to see their smiles. She could imagine them right now, smiling and thanking her lovingly. Angeal would pat her head and tell her she was doing a good job. Zack would high-five her while Aerith would hug her. Genesis would smirk yet squeeze her shoulder like how Vincent was doing now. Sephiroth, if he was his normal self, would nod at her with a rare yet genuine smile.

It was then that she felt something brush against her hand. Her eyes widened in awe as she saw two white and two black feathers float down onto her palm with a small breeze brushing past her. Her ears picked up on the sound of chuckling with peals of bells.

Gripping them tightly, she smiled.

"I'm not giving up."

* * *

><p><em>As you can see, Tristis had an emotional break down because honestly, who wouldn't? Seeing your friends die over and over again and not being able to change it for the last 3 life times can break you down.<br>Also, I made it that Vincent and Aerith are the only ones who remember their past life times too. Because honestly, Vincent is cool and he has chaos inside him who is... kind of part of the planet I guess while Aerith is also a certra. Besides, Tristis will obviously go crazy without some support from someone/some people that understand her situation._

_Thank you for reading and have a good day!_

_-LoliMochi._


	7. Bonus Chapter 2

**DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER **

**IF YOU WANT TO KEEP TRISTIS MYSTERIOUS. **

**IT HAS SPOILERS/CLUES.**

_Sorry for writing so many 'memory' chapters. I just keep listening to sad songs (specifically Why by Ayaka and Aerith's theme). Memory chapters help me remember some bits and pieces of her past life because this is the first ever story I haven't planned through properly. I don't even know how to make Tristis save everyone! So this will fill up the spots until I get an idea (or stop listening to depressing music)._

_I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it._

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

* * *

><p><strong>Memory Chapter 2 <strong>- _Waiting For The Day_

The church was run down with with broken pews, cracked pillars and cold drafts entering the crumbling building... Yet it seemed so peaceful and beautiful. In the center of the church was a patch of flowers basking in the gentle light coming from the stained glass window. There, kneeling by the patch, was a girl humming. It was Tristis.

She was barely sixteen with the same river of chocolate brown hair. Her eyes were focused on the opal flowers with her hands gently caressing each one of them. She was so peaceful and happy...

"Aerith!" A voice had shouted as the double wooden doors creaked open. It was Zack.

She slowly turned and looked at him, "I'm sorry, Aerith has gone somewhere with her mom. Is there something you need?" She kindly spoke, carefully standing up to reveal her full costume.

She was wearing something quite beautiful compared to the slums of which she resided in. Her main dress was a sky blue dress with two black lines outlining her abdomen with buttons on either side. The bottom half reached her knees, frilled and ruffled with hems of see-through white material and lined with black. The sleeves were long and wide made of white material with half of it a silvery-blue see-through material, so he could see her forearms. It had material wrapped around her shoulders, almost like a cardigan, but it didn't need buttons nor did it have sleeves. It was also lined with black with a lacy white collar and a big black ribbon tying it all together. Her shoes were black and she wore white knee-high stockings. She looked innocent... Like an angel.

"Woah, sorry. I was thinking of introducing her to my friends..." Zack muttered sheepishly.

She nodded with understanding and beckoned to come forward, "You can keep me company while we wait for her. She is a relative of mine."

He nodded and looked behind him, "Come on."

One by one several men entered: Genesis, Angeal, Sephiroth and even Cloud. They sat on the pews and she smiled. "My name is Nix Somnium."

"I'm Zack. That's Genesis, Cloud, Angeal and Sephiroth."

She giggled, something that rarely happened now so they drilled the sound into their minds. "Aerith has said a lot of things about you Zack."

They continued to converse, sometimes with her, sometimes with eachother while she only listened while tending her flowers. Then, Angeal yawned which caught her attention. He was sitting next to her by the flowers and she glanced at him, "Are you alright?" She softly asked.

He smiled, nodding. "Just a little tired. I haven't slept a lot lately."

Her stare was half-lidded as she carefully picked up a flower and handed it to him. "You can brew this as tea or you can sleep with it near your bedside... It will help you sleep I think."

He gratefully accepted it and gingerly held it. It looked as if he didn't know if he would destroy it from his hands, but she gently patted his forearm and continued to tend her flowers.

Afterwards, all the SOLDIERs began visiting the church more often in hopes to talk to Aerith or Tristis. But it was clearly noticable that Angeal and Zack visited more often for the girls. Aerith and Zack would do their usual of talking and making a flower wagon while Angeal only sat down in silence while listening to Tristis sing or hum as she watered the plants. Sometimes he would help her too.

"Nix." Angeal called out her name to gain her attention, which did so effectively.

"Yes?"

"Next week, Monday... I'll take you out somewhere nice... Above the plate."

She counted on her fingers and smiled, "The twenty-fifth? That sounds lovely. I heard it's sunny on that day."

He chuckled at her response, "I'll take you out to eat... Maybe we can buy you some new flower seeds too." He suggested.

She clasped her hands together in excitment, "Okay. We'll forget all about our troubles on that day! I'll wear something really nice okay? I'm really excited now..." She said as she went over to sit next to him. She patted her lap and he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"You haven't been sleeping well, right? You can have a nap until your called in for a mission or something." Without further discussion, although with hints of hesitation, Angeal gently laid his on his back with his head on her lap.

He stared up into her eyes and his expression softened and his lips tugged into a small smile. Her gaze was half-lidded, dreamy and happy as she let her fingers brush his raven black hair. His muscles relaxed exceptionally from the gesture and he began to close his eyes. She began humming something soft and soothing. It lulled him to sleep easily while she remained in bliss as she constantly shifted her gaze from the flowers to his face. If she could pick whether the flowers were more beautiful or Angeal's peaceful sleeping face, she'd definitely pick Angeal. But that was her little secret. Just thinking about next Monday was making her lips curve into a smile.

But a few days later, Tristis was alone inside the church and she tenderly did her usual things. Suddenly, she gasped and looked up, as if to search for the sky. No doubt, there was a small hole above the plate and she could see the blue skies. She saw something float down and gingerly held it... A snow white feather. Her eyes slowly closed and she grasped it to her lips, shaking her head in disbelief.

The next day, Zack sitting on the floor cross-legged. He was crying with the buster sword in his hand._ "_He... He's dead..." Zack muttered, trying to push back the tears. Aerith's eyes were filled with sympathy as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her chest against his back and soothingly told him that everything would be alright.

At the doorway was Tristis. It was most likely the twenty-fifth because she was wearing a new set of clothing. It was a white lacy dress with see-through material on top that only reached the middle of her thighs in a pleated pattern. She wore a cherry blossom pink hooded top over it, reaching her hips with a satin ribbon tied around her waist. It was slightly unzipped to reveal the top lacy bit of her white dress. She wore a pink ribbon to clip strands of her chestnut hair away from it's usual spot that covered her right eye and white wedges adorned her feet.

Her eyes were filled with tears and she held the feather tightly to her chest. Her body trembled as tears slipped down her smooth cheeks, yet she was so silent. She was mouthing Angeal's name like a mantra and Angeal standing next to her, his arms wrapped loosely around her. He had one white wing wrapping around them, protective of her with his eyes revealing emotions filled with love and sorrow.

She really loved him. She may not have spoken the words before, nor showed anything other than friendliness, but she loved him. Maybe she didn't even know it herself. But it was obvious, there was a small connection between them that didn't need any words, they just felt it.

As he began to slowly disappear, carried away by tendrils of the life stream, giving her a last caress on her cheek, which made her weakly smile. _"Thank you for being there for me..." _She whispered.

When Zack had calmed down and was called for a mission to find Genesis, Tristis had stopped him. "Please, take me with you." She begged, "I know how to fight if the worse comes. Please... There must be a way I can convince Genesis... He's my friend..." Zack peered at her with guilt. He had killed Angeal and he knew how much Angeal loved her. This was a small price to pay for what he had done to her.

"Okay, but be careful."

And that was her first life cycle...

* * *

><p><em>I really want to change the last sentence, but I couldn't think of anything to replace it with, so sorry if it had a lame ending!<br>As you can see, I've decided Tristis's pairing. It took me a while, but I decided to do Angeal because there isn't much fan fictions about him. He's also kind and honourable, which Tristis likes about him too.  
>You know, I have a tendency of reading my stories out loud to see if it sounds right. When I read it, I started crying because I felt so pitiful for Tristis.<em>

_Thank you for reading and have a nice day!_

_-LoliMochi._


	8. Bonus Chapter 3

**DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER **

**IF YOU WANT TO KEEP TRISTIS MYSTERIOUS. **

**IT HAS SPOILERS/CLUES.**

_Uuugh... I wrote another one! I'm so sorry... I'll actually get to writing the REAL story chapters. I just imagine how tragic Tristis is and I can't help but write about it._

_I hope you enjoy reading this!_

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

* * *

><p><strong>Memory Chapter 3<strong> - _See You Soon... _

It was unbelievable. It was her second time she had relived this life. Yet there she was, sitting down at a cafe above the plate with a cup of coffee in her hands. She had just finished her shift and was waiting for a certain someone to come and pick her up.

"Hey, Nix. Sorry I'm late." His voice sounded and she turned slightly to glance at him before smiling.

"It's alright, you're a busy man. I know." She replied smoothly without a hint of anger at him.

She was more than estastic to see Angeal right infront of her. The last time she had seen him was when he had promised her to a date, much like right now. She could imagine them coming here if they really did have their date... Maybe they would of officially became a couple... But right now, their relationship wasn't really decided. They were definitely friends- best friend that trusted each also had their intimate moments, like holding hands and sleeping on each other's laps. She had also kissed his cheek and forehead a couple of times. Yet they didn't do anything official or talked about it... And truth be told, she was terrified of what would happen, she always felt like he could be taken away at any moment.

When she was given the chance to rewrite the past, she had decided that she would do subtle things to see if that would change it. The reason for this was because of the term _'butterfly effect'_ Aerith had told her about. That was why she had become a waitress at a local cafe and bar near the ShinRa building. She had heard about how many SOLDIERs actually went into the place, including the great first class SOLDIERs.

Nix was busy trying to recall the events and all the thinking had made her so sick that she almost fainted, but she was lucky enough to get caught into the arms of Genesis, whom smirked, "If you wanted a hug, there was no need to feign it."

It was then that her old friends began visiting her once again. They looked for her for advice and other simple things. She knew that if she tried hard enough, she could push them into the right direction before anything drastic happened.

"Has anything happened lately?" She asked Angeal.

He shook his head before taking a sip of her coffee. He seemed comfortable with this, as he always did it and he didn't seem bothered to buy his own cup- not that she was complaining mind you. "More and more missions with Zack, nothing else. I might not be able to visit you as peacefully or easily."

She smiled sadly before grabbing her cellphone, "Let's exchange numbers so we can call or text each other instead of going to each other's houses or this cafe." Then she paused and looked at him with narrowed eyes, "But don't get me wrong, I like it better meeting you face to face. So _if_ you have time, please visit me."

He chuckled and agreed, telling her his phone number and vice versa. When he had finished her coffee, they went outside and just walked together to to the church underneath the plate. On the way there, Nix couldn't help but quietly weave her hand into his and looked at the ground blushing. She heard him chuckle before giving her hand a light squeeze, as if to say that it was alright. Still, it didn't help her stop blushing.

_Subject: Just so you know  
>Sender: Nix Somnium<br>Remember that I miss you and that I want you to call me as soon as you come back from a mission, okay? Tell me about your day. Oh, I forgot to tell you, can you buy my some flower seeds? We can plant them together or with Aerith (Zack's girlfriend and my cousin, remember?).  
>I'll meet you in the cafe if you feel like it.<br>P.S Did I forget to mention how much I missed you?_

_Subject: Are you alright?  
>Sender: Nix Somnium<br>You haven't been coming to the cafe and that really worries me. What worries me most is that you haven't called or texted me in a while... Are you alright? Zack told me you were injured. Are you in the infirmary? Can I visit you or something? The flower seeds you gave me have bloomed. I'll bring them for you, okay?  
>P.S I miss you.<em>

_Subject: Good Luck!  
>Sender: Nix Somnium<br>I remember you telling me you had to go on another mission last night, so I had to text you this morning! Good luck and come back safely, okay? If you go anywhere special, don't forget to buy me some flower seeds like you promised!_

_Subect: P.S!  
>Sender: Nix Somnium<br>I forgot to mention that I made your favourite cake and coffee... So um... You better come back okay?  
>And um, it's kind of awkward not being able to call you (because a lot of people in work are nosy) and tell you... But um...<br>I love you too._

_Subject: Genesis?  
>Sender: Nix Somnium<br>Is it true Genesis defected? I hope he's alright. I'm sure you can set him straight again. But be careful... Please... I don't want you getting hurt. If you're stressed about things you can talk to me. I'll listen to everything you say._

_Subject: Date?  
>Sender: Nix Somnium<br>From the call I got last night, I think you need to relax. Do you want to go on a date after you finish your mission? We can go somewhere nice, maybe far from town. We can forget all about our troubles at that moment. How about that? I'll be waiting!_

_Subject: RE: Date?  
>Sender: Angeal Hewley<br>I can't call you because the noise from travelling is really loud. That's a good idea. I'll bring you to Banora, my home town. You always wanted to eat a dumbapple when Genesis told you about them. Zack is jumping up and down next to me. He read the text just now. No wonder I named him puppy, he's more happy about our date when he's not even in it.  
>I love you.<br>See you soon._

When Nix was leaving the cafe, she stood at the left of the entrance to let others in. She was about to start walking back down the plate until she felt a sudden tug at her heart. She knew this feeling, it was absolutely dreadful as she looked up into the sky. It felt as if half of her heart had been ripped out yet a few seconds later she was numb. It had begun raining and people began rushing to shelter while she stood on the pathway getting drenched.

Angeal never came back.

Tears mixed with the rain made it hard for anyone to tell that she was silently crying and she felt herself breaking down. She had failed him and that hurt her the most. He still thought of himself as a monster which was not true at all.

But the numbness was slightly comforting, as well as the many calls she had recieved and saved onto her cellphone from Angeal. She remembered in his latest text he had told her she would _see you soon_. And when she thought about it, it was rather true. Even if this life time was her last chance to rectify the wrongs, she would eventually end up in the life stream and be reunited with him and her friends. _Memento Mori..._ She thought. That was right... Nobody can live forever, after all... Like the phrase meant, _Remember you are mortal..._

She gathered her strength and prepared herself to try change the fate of the other men in her life. She could not wallow in self pity when her friends were at risk. If she tried hard enough, she might be able to save Sephiroth, Zack, Genesis and Aerith. Then, she would help Cloud save Gaia all over again. She smiled, a sad but grateful smile into the sky, wondering if Angeal could see it.

_I'll see you soon..._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Nix Somnium<em>**_ means 'Snow Dreams' in Latin which was Tristis's real birth name. However, when she reached the third cycle, she changed her name to 'start over again' and sorely put all her effort on making Angeal, Sephiroth, Genesis, Zack, Cloud and Aerith live. **Tristis Memoria** means 'Sad Memories' in Latin. None of these translations should be exactly right because I looked them up on google translate and asked several people. I do not learn latin either, but just deal with it for now._

_There we have it, another damn sad chapter. This was her second life cycle, yet she still had hope. So this chapter is supposed to define that she is not that weak and that this made her stronger.  
>Again, this chapter is for people who wanted to know a bit more about Tristis that she loved Angeal a lot, even if she knew of his fate. She cared enough to make sure <span>everyone<span> lived not just Angeal. So hopefully, that will make her more... compassionate? I'm not so sure. But, it's supposed to show how much she loves her friends and how she really thinks they deserve better than to just die because some disgusting scientist experimented on them._

_Thank you for reading and have a nice day!_

_-LoliMochi._


	9. A Nice First Day

_Here we are, chapter five!  
>I'm trying desperately to write as many chapters before I lose interest (which I'm probably not) so that's probably why I'm being so productive.<em>

_I'd like to thank all my reviewers and the people whom are reading this story. Especially one reviewer named **loveless an the living fantasy** because he/she gave me some great ideas for the story. Infact, I was thinking the same thing as her/him. Do not worry, dear. I won't make this have a sad ending (nor bittersweet, as much as I'm tempted to do so) because I will bawl my eyes out and hit myself for making Tristis's life so darn sad!  
>So thank you again all my reviewers and readers because I honestly can't believe I've gotten four reviews and I've reached up to chapter five (not including the memory chapters).<em>

_I really hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I have writing this._

__I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot.__

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong> ****- ****_A Nice First Day_

Luckily for Tristis, Lazard was absolutely thrilled to have her in SOLDIER. Though he did warn her about ShinRa being a breeding ground of wolves. She casually shrugged, "Nibelheim had wolves and I dealt with them just fine." Even though she perfectly understood Lazard was talking about the amount of males and lack of females. He wasn't afraid to admit that she was a pretty young woman and men would take advantage of that. Again, she smiled and accepted the terms of becoming a SOLDIER.

When she went out of the conference room she was greeted by Zack and a fellow recruit. She knew this recruit well because she had secretly helped him train for the exam, but because she had always worn her helmet, he couldn't recognise who she was. His hair was spiky blonde and his eyes had changed to the brightest blue she had ever seen... Probably from the mako.

"Tristis, is it really you?" He asked, grabbing her arm and peering into her eyes. He didn't seem to notice how close they really were.

"Yes, it is me, Cloud." She smiled, giving him a friendly hug.

He happily accepted it and laughed, "I can't believe it. _You_ were the one helping me and you know basically all the first class SOLDIERs! What _have_ you been doing when you moved out of Nibelheim?"

"Travelling obviously." She nudged Zack, "I met Zack after meeting you. You should already know I've met Angeal and Genesis first."

At that moment, she heard loud, rushing foot steps echoing throughout the hall way. All three looked up to see a redheaded sprinting towards them. Zack and Cloud stiffened, thinking they were in trouble, but Tristis held out her arms to be enveloped in her childhood friend's arms. "Triss!" His shout was muffled by her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him swing her around in pure joy.

"Hello, Gen." Her bubbles of laughter was soft but it hadn't changed through all those years. He placed her back onto the ground and inspected her as if she had just come back from war.

"You have no idea how much I've worried about you throughout these years. You just suddenly disappeared from Banora! I panicked so badly. I was climbing every hill to find you. Luckily Angeal was with me, or else I would of fell and broken a few limbs! What were you thinking, leaving without saying a word?" He scolded but his eyes expressed relief. He shook his head a few times, "You were so small and fragile, I thought something would had happened to you."

She was incredibly touched to know that Angeal and Genesis had gone searching throughout Banora for her... To be worried for her despite the many years that passed... To even remember her face!

They had changed from their boy appearance to grown men. Angeal's raven black hair was slicked back except for two bangs that framed his face, one on either side. It gave him an older appearance and she couldn't help but admire how mature he seemed. His midnight blue eyes had changed to a much brighter hue and his gaze was wise and brave. She remembered seeing him in the training room wearing a standard SOLDIER first class uniform. It was all navy blue (almost black). It consisted of a sleeveless muscle shirt, black long baggy pants with combat boots. His shoulders were shieled by black pauldrons and his abdomen had a large black leather belt. Lastly, he had a pair of ebony gloves. She could hardly believe how broad and muscled he had become since their childhood.

Genesis had transformed from a rather girlish looking boy to a handsome, graceful man. He adorned a crimson trench coat over a black leather outfit and matching combat boots. He had crimson leather gloves to hide his precious hands that used to play piano for her. She noticed how his scarlet hair had dimmed to coppery brown locks and she had to admit, it matched his new pair of sky blue eyes perfectly. They were no longer the young boys she had grown up with...

She wished she could tell them how much she missed them and how touched she felt to be remembered... But that would seem awkward. So she just opened her mouth and let simple words slip by, "Sorry, my parents couldn't control themselves."

That wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't what she wanted to say. She mentally sighed in defeat and wondered if there was any moment that would let her speak freely without any fear... "Triss? You alright?" Zack asked, shaking her shoulder lightly.

"Huh? Oh... Yes, I'm fine. I need to have a look around of the building, if you don't mind." She spoke. Cadets were only allowed on specifics floors, infact, if she remembered correctly, there were only four of which they could enter. The rest were for SOLDIERs, secertaries, Turks or scientists only.

Her friends nodded at her, all having a reason why they couldn't join her, not that she minded. It gave her time to think by herself without needing to constantly remind herself to put herself back into the conversation. She left with a smile and a wave before heading down the hallway. She needed some silence and to have the whole building memorised. It was an easy feat for her because her memory was actually better than most, although it was not photographic memory, it was good enough to be of imense use to her.

Unfortunely for her, it seemed that others were clearly not mind readers and that they weren't exactly the quiet type. Some floors were filled with button mashing, gossip blabbering secertaries, other's were of evil cackles, explosions from tests. As if her tour couldn't go any badly, she was given false hope.

As she walked along a particularly _long_ hallway in silence. it was comforting to know that there was somewhere she could relax in peace, a place where she could stuff her head filled with worries, get up, leave the place and feel refreshed because she left all behind in the hallway or something. She thought this would be the perfect place...

Until she heard a moan...

At first, she thought it was her imagination so she proceeded down the hallway. Then, there was another. She thought someone was injured, Goddess knows how inside the ShinRa building, but there might have been a chance. So she ventured forward, taking slow steps to find the accurate room of which the sound came from. Then... She heard a couple of other moans, all from different rooms. They certainly didn't sound in pain..

Tristis's eyes widened, finally realising what was all the noise. ShinRa wasn't really a great place for privacy... So unused rooms were rather welcomed for... work _mates_... Without further ado, she turned and left for the elevator. By the time she had finished touring the whole ShinRa building, her face was still red from embarrassment when she saw Angeal, Genesis, Zack, Cloud and Sephiroth at the cafeteria table. She slid down on an empty seat with an empty look.

"Hey, Triss! This is Sephiroth, the Great General. Seph, this is Tristis Memoria. She's our childhood friend." Zack chirped happily.

Sephiroth was a tall man. He was probably the tallest with Angeal taking up second place. His silver hair hung in straight strands until it hung just above his waist with bangs framing his face. He wore a trench coat over his muscular chest. Two belts criss-crossed over his chest and silver pauldrons upon his shoulders. His pants and combat boots were black as well.

"Nice to meet you Miss Memoria." He said in his baritone voice.

"Nice to meet you, Sephiroth. Please call me Triss because my name is so long." She said rather blankly, before groaning, her hands in her face.

"What happened?" Angeal asked.

She slapped her forehead, trying to daze herself from a dream. But obviously, this wasn't a dream and it resulted in a bright red mark. "First day in ShinRa and I've already seen what I've heard... Lazard was right." She muttered flushed as she remembered how close she was to finding out whom were the people inside the rooms. From the pitch of their voices, they were all male... Her face suddenly flushed bright red when she realised what that meant, _that_ would certainly make her embarrassed if she suddenly walked in on them.

"Uhh... Triss? You alright?" Zack shook her shoulder.

"If any of you do anything inappropriate... Please... Just lock your door so I don't accidently walk in..." She mumbled.

Her request only earned weird looks from everyone else except Genesis, who smirked. "Walked in on them?"

She shook her head, "Only heard."

"Nice 'welcome to ShinRa present', right?" His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Careful pretty boy, I might shove you with them." She growled playfully, only to recieve a few chuckles and an amused expression from the great Sephiroth.

It was these simple things that Tristis missed sorely.

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><p><em>So Tristis finally met Sephiroth!<br>If you didn't understand what all the moaning was about, then I think you're a bit too innocent to read this story (Not that it contains anything more than implying) because there will be a lot of situations like these that will lighten up the story because I'm practicing adding humour to my stories. I am itching to write more romantically about Tristis and Angeal, but that would be too soon (for him atleast). So I'm holding myself back and aiming to add more action (although I'm HORRIBLE at writing fight scenes), humour or just mysterious twists._

_Thank you for reading!_

_-LoliMochi._


	10. Her Weapons Of Choice

_Hello!  
>As I've told you before in my last chapter, I'm practicing with my fighting scenes. I'm sorry if it's not good but I'm hoping to get better.<em>

_And a huge thank you for all those that have reviewed. I was incredibly suprised to come home from school and see that my reviews had jumped from four to twelve! I've gotten some really good feedback and ideas from you guys and I love you for it!_

_Comment Replies  
><em>_Loveless an the living fantasy - Sorry about that, I was thinking you'd be a girl, but I wouldn't want to offend you. I didn't know Genesis gave more of a lover feeling than Angeal. However, it is good that you told me because now I know whether or not to tone it down or not (maybe I might add a love triangle... -shifty eyes-). Thank you!_

_willow, poke girl 3000, the fading dream - I would be ashamed if I suddenly dropped this story while knowing I had so many supporters. Thank you for reviewing and tell me your thoughts. I really appreciate it._

_horse maniac - I was thinking of making the story longer by having Tristis and the gang hunt around for Hojo once she saves all her friends from their fated death. I don't know about DEEPGROUND or Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo because I also wanted them as enemies to spruce up the story. However, I will think about it. Thank you very much for giving me your ideas, it will make the story much more better, I assure you!_

_valentina - Yes, I've got a special role for Vincent in this story. I'm thinking about how to introduce Vincent and I came up with a great plan. It might not be expected, but I think it made be a little bit of a surprise and earn a bit of a chuckle from you guys. Let's just say our favourite SOLDIER boys eavesdrop on a certain conversation._

_misty - Haha, I'm glad you found it funny. I wasn't sure if it'd add a bit of humour to it. Thank you for telling me your opinion1_

_hoshi no rika - Yes, Genesis does have his sweet moments. Especially when it comes to Tristis because she is his childhood friend. As I've said before (to loveless an the living fantasy), I might make a small love triangle or some sort. But I'm not very good on those and it'd be ultimately unfair for poor Genesis._

_I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!_

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

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><p><strong>Chapter Six <strong>- _Her Weapons Of Choice_

Cloud walked down the corridors of the upper class SOLDIERs rooms. For obvious reasons, Tristis's room was stationed on the same floor as the first class SOLDIERs. He did notice the lack of occupied room on this floor and he wished that someday, he would be in one of those rooms.

One of the reasons why Cloud was heading this direction was for Tristis. He knew she was friendly towards Genesis, Sephiroth, Angeal and Zack, but then again, who isn't Zack friendly to? As much as he liked Zack's friendly nature, he only felt comfortable with Tristis. Everyone else was far too superior than him and he felt a little... well, little. But when it came to Tristis, she was physically smaller than him but also very encouraging.

He heard Tristis had gotten the test results for her mako tolerence. She had slipped a copy of it under his door the day afterwards. He couldn't understand it. It claimed that she already had a substantial amount of mako laced within her blood stream. But how was that possible? With so much mako in her system, she would surely perish. She texted him to report how it had gone. She said Angeal and Genesis were watching the professor like a hawk. Zack had come to him worried, spouting out about how she was a girl and that she was very fragile.

He would have believed that, if not for her exceptional melee skills. She was, to be honest, great at swords, guns and incredible with hand to hand combat. When the cadets got to try out a low leveled fire materia, she had ended up being the best in the class. During those times, it was as if she was in a rush, concentrating on the flames everytime. Their instructor had told them that if they impressed him enough, they could take the exam earlier or completely skip it and get promoted as a SOLDIER third class immediately. Obviously he had been lying because no matter how much Tristis concentrated, worked and impressed, he had taken no notice of her except for a pat on the back and congratulating her for doing a great job.

But at that point, Cloud only knew her as the 'helmet guy'. He had no idea that she was the one pulling him to the side lines, correcting his positions and makng him train harder so he could reach his dreams.

He couldn't help but let a small smile grace his face. He had finally reached the door of his childhood friend and carefully knocked on it. "Triss?"

He heard some shuffling on the other side of the door before it swiftly opened to reveal the female SOLDIER

Tristis was wearing a black sleeveless v-neck top that hugged her lilthe form tightly. Her skirt was pleated and navy blue with black shorts underneath (and by short, he meant _really_ short because he could hardly see them beyond the length of her skirt). She had silver belts criss-crossing over her chest and back. His eyes wondered back down to see a garter attached around the middle of her thigh with a small pouch. Two long white ribbons were attached to her shoulders and cascaded down her back, reaching the back of her knees with golden bells attached at the ends. She also wore her signature colorful bracelet (that Zack told him he had made for her) around her wrist with a pink ribbon around her upper arm.

"Cloud?" He heard her soft tone, as if expecting to comfort him, "Did something happen?"

He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Uh, you... You look nice, but... Isn't it a bit... tight and short?" He gestured towards her new customized SOLDIER outfit.

She chuckled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks, but they made the uniform and claimed it to be 'good for battle'. Something about distracting the enemy or something."

_Hell yes that would be distracting if the enemy was a hormonal teenager._ He frowned at the thought of all the other SOLDIERs looking at her. She was his friend and knowing other guys would be looking at her like that made him protective, much like how he felt when he was with Tifa... The thought of her made him blush. "Anyways, what do you need, Cloud?"

He snapped out of it with a bright red face. "Huh? Oh yeah. Do you want to train with me? I'm not entirely up for training with your friends and... you know, they're too good for me- Uh, not that you're bad, Triss. I just-" Before he could say anything else, she grabbed something from the side of the door (the wall was blocking his view from seeing what it actually was), locked the door and began dragging him down to the training room.

"Cloud, listen. I know that you admire them and stuff, but that doesn't make them any better than you or vice versa. Who is best at looking like a chocobo? You. Who's good at making ladies swoon? Probably Sephiroth or Genesis."

_That_ didn't make him feel any better and he frowned, before noticing something. "Did you just call the General by his name?"

She glanced at him by the corner of her eyes (thank Goddess they were still emerald and not ruined by any mako), "Yeah, he didn't mind a few days ago either. Besides, you got to remember he's still human, Cloud."

_Huh? Of course I know he's human..._ Cloud thought, but decided to say nothing.

They arrived at the training room a few minutes later. During that time, Cloud had pondered whether or not they were lost. But Tristis had told him she remembered where everything was already and of course, Tristis was right.

As he began to search through the storage rooms filled with training weaponsm he noticed that Tristis had brought her own weapons with her. To his shock, she had gently placed a scythe onto the ground. The curved blade was wrapped with white bandages for some strange reason.

Afterwards, she reached to the side of her hip, smoothly unattaching a coiled object. It was silvery blue and looked incredibly smooth. As she unrolled it, he realised that it was actually a whip. But when she sharply snapped it at the air, it had become jagged and segmented into several arrow-headed blades linked together with some sort of metal with the tip partically sharp looking, like a normal blade. She snapped it a couple of times in the air, as if getting used to the feel of flicking it around with her wrist. It made a clean cutting noise every time.

"Where did you get _that_ from?" He asked in awe.

She looked at her well crafted whip carefully before gazing straight into his eyes, "It was given to me by a friend of mine." She simply replied before whipping the air again, only this time the blades retracted and it became a smooth surface again. "I don't know what it's made from, but it's great and reliable."

"How about that?" He nodded his head in the direction of her scythe.

She fell silent, looking at the blade with haunted eyes. The emerald in her eyes seemed to dim and he couldn't help but wonder why. "It's been with me for... a _very_ long time." She said cryptically before casually shrugging. "I only carry it around with me, I don't actually use it because it's a bit heavy."

Cloud didn't know whether or not she was lying because the scythe certainly looked heavy, but why would she carry it around then? "Do you want to train using specific weapons or do you want to train using hand to hand combat?" She asked.

Cloud had picked out a sword from the storage and spoke, "Can we spar with swords?" He knew what type of weapon he wanted and could use. He was average when it came to guns, above average when it came to materia but excellent when it came to swords. He used to get bullied all the time during his childhood, a few years after Tristis had moved away. It was those days that he had figured how to swing a branch like a sword. He had become fascinated with the particular moves you could do with swords and pursued in using them when it came to being a SOLDIER.

"I knew you'd say that." Tristis smiled, coiling her whip and placing it back at her side before grabbing a sword and letting it cut through the air with just a flick of her wrist.

She encouraged him to do a little warming up with her before starting the battle. He agreed beause he honestly didn't want to get any strained muscles. He had had enough of those during his cadet course. He began to stretch his limbs and swinging his sword in precise movements with Tristis in sync with him.

After five minutes of warming their bodies up to the battle to come, they stood quite a distance away from eachother. "Ready?" She called out.

"Ready." And saw that she had immediately begun charging at him.

A second later, their swords were clashing. She was repeatedly slashing at him with weak, yet very deadly moves that would be fatal if he had not blocked them. Sometimes, all he could do was dodge because she left no openings for an attack. They were parrying, countering and over powering each other. Fighting with Tristis had made him realise that his balance was not right. Everytime she would attack with more strength than he'd expect, his balance would waver considerably, making it harder for him to focus and defend properly.

Cloud had found a weak point in her and tried to let his blade fall vertically down on her, but she had used her previous swing to smoothly swing back and knock his feet over (luckily practice blades were extremely dull and caused no harm of cuts). He found it especially annoying on how flexible her small frame was. When she had brought the blade to his head, he successfully blocked it and tried to get a hit when she was in mid-air, only to have her back flip. Once she landed on the ground (which only took a fraction of a second) she propelled herself forward in such speed that she was nothing but a blur and tackled him right to the ground.

Taken back, Cloud had found himself laying on the training room floor with her blade to his neck. Her eyes were narrowed into a deadly glare with darkness clouding her emerald eyes. He couldn't explain it, but there was a swirl of emotions flickering across those usually loving orbs. Pain? Anger? "...Triss?" He whispered her name, as if it was forbidden to let her out of her trance.

Tristis flickered to life and her cold expression melted to an awkward smile, "Sorry, Cloud. I was caught up in the moment..."

He didn't know whether to smile or ask her what was wrong... He chickened out. "Get off me now?"

She laughed good heartedly and took their swords back to the storage room. He watched as she got her scythe and heaved it onto her back to strap it on one again. The bells in her ribbons tinkled with every movement. She didn't look relaxed and somehow, he thought she looked... a bit forced. _That's just my imagination..._ He thought before leaving the room with her beside him.

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><p><em>Sorry I didn't really put much effort on the fighting scene. I'm a bit tired and I was watching Monty Oum's Dead Fantasy on youtube to try get some ideas for the fighting scenes. You can sort of tell I'm more of a romantic writer than a action one. So sorry for that.<em>

_Another mystery added to Tristis... her weapons. It's true that they've been with her for a long time, but how so?  
>Go ahead and ponder on it. (Although I must say, you guys will probably understand it sooner or later anyways).<em>

_Thank you for reading and have a nice day!_

_-Lolimochi_

_P.S Sorry if my chapters have had typos/spelling mistakes/ missing words. I type my stories out on wordpad which has no automatic corrections and lately I haven't been checking as hard as I should be._


	11. Being Casual

_Hey guys!_

_Sorry that this is so short. I've read all of your reviews and I'm considering all your ideas. Thank you for reviewing and reading my story, I'm really happy about it. _

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven <strong>- _Being Casual_

It had been a few days since Sephiroth had been introduced to Tristis. To say that she was fragile would be false by the look of her reports. To say she was an enigma was correct in his mind. He was suspicious of her skills and he suspected her of being some sort of spy from AVALANCHE.

"You usually have people fainting from fear or adoration, Sephiroth. She didn't and that makes you curious, even more so when she called you by your given name. Don't worry about it, Triss is just like that. She's being casual." Angeal told him with a smile (he often wondered why Angeal always smiled when he mentioned Tristis).

If casual meant getting him to do some small talk everytime they saw each other then no. He did not want to be _'casual'_. The General was horrible at idling. He was a busy man with loads and loads of paper work lying on the desk taunting him to grab as much coffee to survive the night before all the other pesky secretaries made a run for it to do _their_ paperwork and deliveries. They were like hungry animals fighting over scarce food. He groaned just thinking about it.

"You alright, Sephiroth?" He had several friends that called him by his given name, but only one was female.

"Memoria." He greeted her with a nod.

She didn't seem pleased with him as she rolled her eyes, "Call me Tristis."

"That would mean we are close and we had only just met. It would only be sensible and wise to keep our distance." He stated in his professional tone of voice.

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "If it makes it any easier, you can call me Ria."

He didn't answer back to let the subject slip past like a welcomed breeze and continued to walk by. However, she followed in sync with tinkling bells. "Tired of paperwork?" She asked politely.

Again, it was small talk but he complied to give her satisfication. "Yes."

She hummed in response, "Want me to help you?"

He stopped abruptly and swiftly turned to stare straight into her eyes. He tried imagining her as a secretary with a pair of glasses and her tresses of brown hair tied in a loose bun. She'd wear a black pencil skirt and a ruffled white blouse with paperwork tucked under her arm and her other hand holding a cup of coffee... He could definitely believe it, despite her young looks. "Are you sure you can do it?"

Her pink lips twitched into a small smile... or was that a smirk? "I helped Angeal with his." She paused and he swore her smile twisted into a grin. "With _Zack_ in the _same_ room."

His eyes widened slightly. _That_ was an impressive feat. Even he couldn't deal with Zack when he had to juggle between paperwork and doing reports on the computer. Zack always had a thing with burning the most important paperwork on the first class SOLDIERs' desks. He waited for the catch of such an intriguing deal, but when nothing came, he decided to ask.

"You ask for nothing in return?" He inquired carefully.

"Just for you to relax and stop analysing me. You look as if I will grow fangs and bite your hand off."

Sephiroth sat behin his desk with paper piles neatly stacked on the left side. Most were reports on how certain missions were going, permissions that needed to be granted and several appointments needing to be confirmed. Tristis sat on the black leather cough to the right of his room beside an old wooden bookcase filled with documents. A coffee table was placed infront of her with hundreds of papers scattered ontop of it. Her feet were wedged between the couch and the coffee table, yet she didn't seem uncomfortable.

She skimmed each paper to find keywords and define which pile it should go in. She had made a few piles of different categories and sorted in lowest to highest priority. By the time Sephiroth had finished one pile, she was half way done with her second one which greatly pleased him despite not letting it show.

An hour later, Sephiroth was greeted by a bittersweet aroma of hot coffee. He looked up to see Tristis placing a cup on his desk with her own share in her nimble hands. His mind flashed back to the image of her in a secretary outfit again. "Thank you." His gaurd and previous suspicions faltering. Maybe he had a soft spotfor people who did his paperwork, but he was grateful for her help nonetheless. "How did you get so good at this?" He murmured with a tiny bit of interest.

A gentle smile caressed her prim, young face. "I guess you could say I have experience."

He was content with that answer and began to mimick her. He sipped his nicely brewed coffee in comfortable silence.

It was late afternoon by the time they had filed away everything. He breathed out a sigh as he melted into his comfortable chair and closed his eyes. He heard some shuffling from Tristis, most likely lounging on his leather couch. Maybe, Tristis wasn't so bad. Not many people were kind enough to help him (only Angeal, Zack and Genesis had ever did) and to think she would do so for a stranger like him. _Is she trying to gain something from me?_ He thought.

He opened one eye to peek at her, only to find her lying on his couch innocently with her eyes closed. "Memoria?" He asked, surprisingly his tone was soft.

She didn't answer and he couldn't help but chuckle. People don't sleep admist their enemy nor target. Thus, she obviously was no harm to him. Maybe, she just wanted him to be... _'casual'_ around her.

At that moment, his door slowly creaked open to reveal his friend, Angeal. "Sephiroth, have you seen Tristis?"

He nodded towards the couch and heard Angeal chuckle. "She did paperwork for you too?"

His friend placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her, "Triss, wake up."

She shifted her position slightly and mumbled something sleepily, yet her eyes stayed closed. With a sigh, yet fond gaze, Angeal scooped her up with an arm around her back and the other around the back of her knees. Her golden bells jingled softly as she cuddled closer to Angeal, resting her head against his shoulder and letting herself mumble more. "I'll see you around."

Sephiroth stood alone in this room, yet the smell of coffee lingered. With a sigh, he sat on the couch. Tristis's body heat still remained within the leather and that felt slightly... comforting... He lay on his back and stared up to the roof and closed his eyes.

It wouldn't be so bad to be a bit more easy going... Not as much as Zack, Goddess forbid. But, not as strict and formal as he was now. However, it was hard in a place like ShinRa. Well, for him that is. He had so many things to do in such little time and foolishly idling would result in _more_ work to be done. His environment always was surrounded by professionals, even during his childhood. Sticking around scientists was never comforting for a child, especially if they expected the child to be the best of the best.

Maybe... Just maybe he could learn to relax a little. Maybe with the help of his friends, he could learn to be a little more _'casual'_. He knew what the first step was. He slowly took out his cellphone and searched through his contacts. When they were having their small talk the other day, she had slipped her number into his contact list. Now, he felt slightly relieved she did so. He began typing away a text, hoping this would be a good first step.

_Subject: Casual  
>Sender: Sephiroth<br>I will call you Ria from now on.  
>As payment for your paitence and hard work.<em>

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><p><em>There we go, Sephiroth getting a bit relaxed around Tristis. Isn't it ironic that Sephiroth had claimed they'd only met a while ago, yet for Tristis, it's much longer than that?<br>I'm going to change the plot and depth in the story with the help of my brother. Unfortunely my brother really loves bittersweet endings. Therefore, I will make two endings to this story (If I ever finish it). One happy ending and one bittersweet. (Probably). The changes will include deeper meaning behind Tristis's power and how much it had affected her.  
>When me and my brother started discussing about it, I cried because it was tragic yet sweet. But like I've said, it will have two endings that are both up to you to decide which one is the true ending.<em>

_**Spoiler**  
>Tristis will not just meet the SOLDIERs in six life times. She'd met them twenty five life times instead. (as tragic and long as that sounds).<br>The reason why Tristis is experienced with paperwork is because in one of her life cycles, she was their competent secretary. Tristis may seem a bit mary-sue, but she has lived a LONG time and in that time, she tried increasing her skills to try find a way to save her friends.  
><strong>End Spoiler<strong>_

_I also have to confess that I will not make a love triangle with Genesis, Tristis and Angeal. It will purely be friendship with romance between Tristis and Angeal. Because I honestly can't get Genesis's personality right and there a lot of other fan fictions with Genesis X OC. Certain characters might not appear in this story because I might not be able to grasp their persona well, or it will just make the story confusing. If your favourite characters do not appear in the story then I'm really sorry._

_Lucky for you guys who love Reno and Rude, they will be appearing next chapter in all (Reno's) perverted glory!_

_Thank you for reading and have a good day!_

_-LoliMochi_


	12. Meeting The Turks

_Hi guys!_

_I've gotten a review (I think it's actually a flame not constructive critisim) that I found very offensive.  
>Firstly, if you do not like my story then you can stop reading it or you can give me a proper reason why you don't like it and how I can improve it. If you say something like "I don't like your OC. She sucks. She's a mary-sue." Then that's just an insult, I have nothing there that can help me improve. I also won't like it if you keep insisting on your favourite character getting placed into the story. If I do not put that character in, there is a certain reason why I thought not to put herhim in. If I make your favourite character an enemy, then I'm sorry, but there is a reason behind that.  
>If you write something like, "I do not like your story because there are certain loopholes in it. The way you made Tristis rescue (character name) seemed impossible. How about you do something more realistic like (insert idea here)." I'd appreciate that.<em>

_Another thing is that I've now blocked anonymous reviewers. I know it's a bit harsh, but I'd prefer knowing my reviewers now. The anonymous reviewer that insulted me pointed out that my reviewers might have been the same person(s), but I don't mind. I found it irrevelant to my story and pointless to even mention. If they were the same people, I found it flattering to know someone was so devoted to my story. But I'd appreciate it if one person wrote it per one account, thank you._

_Again, I do not own anything other than the plot twists and the character Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium. Final Fantasy VII character's and the game itself belongs to Square Enix._

_Now, enjoy reading this chapter!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight <strong>- _Meeting The Turks_

Reno was a prankster. When a Turk prankster and a SOLDIER prankster get together to pull off the ultimate prank, they were unstoppable.

Unfortunely for the red-head, he couldn't find Zack to help put dye in the shampoo of some ShinRa employees (namely Angeal, Genesis and Tseng). He accidently spilled out his plan to Rude while muttering to himself (thinking no one would be around nor listening) which resulted in his strict, bald partner chasing hi around to try stop the plan from ever initiating.

Reno ran down several hallways to try lose him, but his shady partner always found him. As he ran down a particular corridor with Rude stomping right behind him, he found a small dark area that he could hide in while Rude would run past. _Oh Reno. How good can you get?_ He grinned before lunging into the darkness.

He slammed right into it, pressing himself into the wall to keep his whole suit-covered body hidden. He held his breath as Rude stopped right infront of the intersection and turned his head from this way to that way. His eyes were hidden behind shades (that he never took off), but Reno could _sense_ the death glare.

After a few seconds, Rude still stood there in a calm posture, yet hidden expression. _He can smell my fear!_ Reno thought, half joking to himself. It was always the type of phrase used in horror movies (or should he say comedy movies?)

Then, like the Goddess herself had granted a bit of pity to him, Rude began to continue down the corridor and Reno listened to the fading foot steps. The harbinger was gone! He released his breath and laughed at himself, "Haha, couldn't catch me, yo."

"Good. Can you get off me now?" A voice sounded.

Reno went rigid with horror. _Did the wall just talk?_ He thought as he carefully assessed the situation in his mind. Had he gone crazy? There was no way, he was a normal handsome Turk. But, since he was bored. He decided to humour himself. "I never knew walls could talk, yo."

"Hmm... Neither did I." The voice replied dryly.

"How long have you been here, yo?"

"For a few minutes."

"Life of a wall must suck, huh?"

"I'm sure it does. Can you get your hands off me now?"

"Hey, you're a wall. You can't feel anything."

"I'm not so sure about that. I can definitely feel _something_." The voice stated.

Now that he thought about it... The wall did seem warmer... He gave it a light squeeze and he finally noticed the slight femine (if he dare say flowery) smell... "Average size?" He mumbled before getting a slap to the cheek.

When he had been roughly pushed out from the darkness, he sported a nice bright red hand print on his right cheek. Out emerged the brunette girl, her face flushed. "Next time, watch where you're going." She said simply before quietly (although the bells on her uniform did jingle) down the hall way.

_That_ had caught his interest. Females (unless they are secretaries) weren't usually seen around ShinRa. Infact, the word ShinRa and female couldn't even fit into the same sentence when it came to Reno's mind. But _that_ particular girl didn't have anything like the usual secretary outfit. Infact, she looked ready for some combat and by her slap, she was one strong girl. Did he forget to mention that he liked girls that could pack a punch?

_That's it... I've picked my target..._ Reno grinned.

The next few days was nothing but weird to Tristis. She felt strangely disturbed to know that someone else (other than her) knew her bust size. She was a bit self-concious about herself as she tried to figure out whether or not it was a good thing to have an average size. She was not lanky and she was most definitely a young woman. But she wasn't as well equipted as one of her friends named Tifa Lockhart. Those were basically big signs saying 'Look here!' Tristis pushed the thoughts away, convincing herself that her body was still growing. _Why am I even thinking about this?_ She mentally shouted at herself.

Another weird thing that had been happening to Tristis was that she felt like she was being watched. She would be walking beside Cloud and feel some sort of heated stare against her back in which she would turn around sharply to find the cause, only to be left with a blurry shadow. _Lack of sleep?_ She thought.

One time, she was walking with Zack to the training room and was surprised to see Zack wave in her general direction, yet his eyes seemed distant, as if looking at something _behind_ her. "Hey!" He shouted and when Tristis followed his gaze, she could only see the empty hall way. "I wonder why he keeps running..." Zack mumbled, slightly concerned.  
>"Who?" Tristis asked.<br>He smiled, "Oh, no one. You wouldn't know him."  
><em>As if that's possible...<em> She thought sadly. She knew everyone that he knew, like wise for her other friends. Sometimes she wondered if there was a time she would actually be surprised.

She got her answer that lunch break. As she sat down eating the disgusting cafeteria food with the youngest three of her male friends (Cloud, Zack and Genesis) she got a rather unpleasant surprise. A shadow fell upon her arm and her eyes looked up to see a very familiar scruff of scarlet hair. She remained silent and watched as his grin did not falter. "Yes?" She asked.

The Turk sat down right next to her and memories began to surge through her.

_"Hey there, hot stuff. How's life?"  
>"Hey Reno. Same old, rescuing the world and sitting down at the bar for a nice drink."<br>"Hear, hear. I'll buy us some drinks."  
>"Thanks Reno..."<br>"Miss them, huh? I sometimes wonder what's it like to sit down and have a drink with them again. Well, not really you, since you couldn't handle alcohol, still can't. Angeal would kill me if I got you drunk and not safely back home yo."  
>"Haha... Yeah... They would all kill you. Seph, Zack, Geal and Gen would send some type of acid rain on you and Cloud would personally slice you to bits."<br>"Hahaha... So not funny, Triss. So not funny."  
>"It's not funny watching your friends die again and again either."<br>"Whatcha mean? Sephiroth was the only one we had to kill atleast three times."  
>"Seems like everyone's forgotten that he was once a hero, a friend... A human..."<br>"Seems like you remember all too well. Listen, Triss, I know he was your friend. But after getting together with his mom or whatever that freaky head was, he went insane and he became something that wasn't the Seph you know. Don't freak your pretty little head about it. He probably would have wanted you to stop him anyways, yo."_

"Triss!"

She jolted out of her memories and felt a constricting pressure against her shoulder. From reflex she immediately brought her hand from her side to slap it away, but realised that she was staring into the eyes of the red-headed Turk. She relaxed somewhat after realising that she wasn't in danger and awkwardly placed her arms back at her sides. "Sorry, I... I was day dreaming." She spoke softly at Zack, whom had called out her name.

"No problem, yo. So your name's Triss?" The Turk grinned.

"It's Tristis. But yeah, you can call me that."

"Well, toots. I'm Reno, but you can call me Red." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and she felt Zack stiffen beside her.

This was much of a surprise to her than others. Not because it was kinda obvious of what he was doing, but that he was flirting with _her_. It never ceased to amaze her that every single cycle she's gone through, Reno's sexual oreintation would change. One cycle he'd be as straight as a line while in another cycle he'd be as straight as a freaking _demented_ line. He'd be gay, bisexual or hetreosexual randomly. But, no matter what gender he prefered to date, he'd always be the same Reno she knew from years before.

"Nice to meet you, Reno." She nodded politely, trying not to smirk.

"I would say nice to meet you _again_."

"Oh, did the mark already heal?" He grinned and nodded.

"Gotta take more than that to get me away."

She smiled sincerely, she really liked Reno's persistence (as a friend obviously) and she never really noticed, but she missed his presence... "I'll tell you what, instead of shamelessly flirting with a fifteen year old, why don't we just stick to being friends? I am what people would call _jailbait_." She whispered to him.

_What? Aw damn..._ He frowned, "When's your birthday?"

"Later on this year." She said dismissively.

"I guess I can wait that long." Reno grinned, shaking her hand.

It was a joke. He was interest in her, yes, but he was not in love with her and he could tell just the look in her mysterious green eyes that she just considered him as a friend. Reno felt a strange tugging towards her, almost like they could be best buddies, like him and Zack. She felt sort of... off limits. Like she loved someone else and their love ran much deeper than anything he would have felt... _Woah, calm down with the love crap..._ He thought.

Before he could say anything else, he felt the glares intensifying and he hastily said goodbye, "See ya, babe. Gotta run before my partner finds me."

She waved him goodbye as he fled out of the cafeteria before getting greeted by Sephiroth and Angeal. "What's wrong?" Angeal asked as he gestured towards the younger males glaring at her.

"He's a Turk." Genesis hissed.

"He's a friend." She countered smoothly before eating more of her cold soup filled with lumps of unmentionables.

Genesis continued to grumble while Zack nervously laughed and agreed that Reno was indeed a friend, albeit a perverted Turk, but still a friend. Cloud lightened up the mood by throwing a stone hard pea at Zack's forehead, resulting in a messy food fight that left Sephiroth wanting to strangle Zack for ruining his leather coat.

_Oh, such sweet days._

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><p><em>I think the next chapter will have a time skip for about a year. I'm deciding whether or not to introduce Vincent into the next chapter or have a sweet moment between Angeal and Tristis. Probably the latter.<em>

_Thank you for reading and I hope you have a nice day!_

_-LoliMochi._


	13. A Call From An Old Friend

_Hello my lovely readers!_

_Wow, I can't believe I reached chapter nine already! (Meaning thirteen chapters in total!)  
>I'm actually quite proud of how the story is going (unfortunely it was a bit slow at the start, sorry about that) and I'm actually quite fond of this idea I've produced.<em>

_Unfortunely, I have to prepare a welcome speech for school as it gives me credits for next year. I'm really nervous since I've never done a welcome speech before. I've only ever done persausive ones... Ugh..._

_Anyways, please enjoy!_

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong> - _A Call From An Old Friend_

Two years had passed since Cloud and Tristis had joined SOLDIER. They were all comfortable with each other and Reno's flirting had slowed down to nothing but a bit of _naughty_ jokes. Angeal mentored Zack but didn't know that Zack was doing the same thing for Cloud. Tristis had joined along, although she was no student of anyone even when Genesis offered too. "I don't want to be a burden." She smiled casually. "Besides, no one knows how to use my weapon."

Despite their friendship towards her (they knew they were friends because even Sephiroth claimed they were) she still liked to keep her answers vague. When Angeal had shown her his buster sword and even let her hold it (despite Zack's whining that she couldn't even lift it) she freaked out and almost immediately dropped it. "I... Sorry." She simply said before walking away ignoring their protests.

They had all gone to her apartment and apologised for forcing her to hold it. "No, it's not your fault... I just... I know _how_ to use it... It just reminds me of someone."

Genesis had tried to pry more answers from her, but she just blushed and looked away. "I... I greatly admired him." She whispered. Angeal seemed to stiffen at that statement and Genesis couldn't help but smirk. Some day, he promised to play as the cupid of their relationship.

Another thing they couldn't decipher from Tristis's behaviour was the frustration she potrayed whenever she finished dueling a hologram. She would come out tired, gripping her whip until her knuckles were white. She would let out a sigh and hit the wall with her fist, muttering some type of mantra before composing herself and walking off. Cloud and Zack had seen it several times and even wanted to approach her to ask her what was wrong, but decided against it.

Now, they were all sitting in her apartment on a weekend. Unfortunely for Tristis, Zack had planned to just lie around waiting for something exciting to happen and he thought doing so in her apartment (as well as dragging everyone else from their paperwork for a break) would be the place.

Her apartment was spotless and organised, Angeal had guessed it had come from the _secretary_ side of her. There was a flat screen television built into the wall a few meters away from the entry door. A leather couch and a book case filled with technical books, romance novels and some poetry (including LOVELESS of which Genesis stuffed inside and Tristis took _willingly_). A kitchenette was connected to the living room with a small dining table that could fit them all. Opposide the kitchen was a small hallway with two rooms. One was her bedroom and the other was the bathroom.

They were sitting on her couch relaxing and watching television while waiting for Tristis to finish making tea. "Do you think you can add some sugar in mine?" Zack asked.

"You've asked this question each time for the past two years, Zack. Sugar and my tea do not mix." She replied dryly.

He shrugged, ignoring the chuckles from their friends. "Never hurts to try again."

_The depths of your eyes blur into darkness...  
>Do you have any feelings deep inside your heart?<br>Even if you laid claim to everything in the world  
>Would that be happiness for you?<em>

A smooth voice emitted and echoed throughout the room accompanied by soft percussion and gutair.

_Why do you gaze up at the lonely sky?  
>Why? Just laugh your hardest<br>I know that being bad with words  
>Is part of your personality, so...<em>

"Can someone get that for me?" Tristis called out from the kitchen.

They looked at one another, their eyes all saying the same thing. _You doing it?_ Genesis shrugged and picked up her vibrating phone. "Hello?" He said into the speaker.

There was a pause with no noise coming from both ends before the mysterious caller sighed and hung up. The red head huffed angrily before flipping the phone closed again. "Didn't even say anything." He grumbled before placing the phone back on the mahogany coffee table.

"Who was it?" Tristis asked as she entered the room carrying a tray with six cups of lovely tea. They could smell it's flowery (or was it herbs?) fragrance even before it reached the coffee table. Genesis, being the poetic one, liked to call it Angel's tears because the maker of the tea had a strange liking towards angels. She never told them how she made such an attractive drink, nor let them see her make it. Zack found it slightly disturbing to call it her tears, yet agreed that it was better than calling it Angel's water or tea. _"Could be tears of happiness."_ He had told them.

"Don't know, he hung up before I got the second to ask."

She frowned, thin brows drawn together in frustration. "I... see..." She simply said before taking her own cup of tea and sipping it delicately.

A minute later, her phone rang again and she swiped it up. She looked at the phone number on the screen in confusion. _0215...? That's similiar to my father's..._ She thought. Her father had a tendency to forget his phone, resulting in him buying a new one every year or so. "Dad? Is something wrong?" She felt her heart constricting to the silence.

"I don't know whether to be offended or to take that as a compliment." A baritone voice sounded dryly.

Her emerald eyes widened in shock and looked towards her friends whom stared straight back curiously. She turned around and moved towards the kitchenette, "Vincent Valentine? Is that really you? How did you get my number?" She gasped, brushing the tendrils of brown hair from her eyes.

"Indeed. Your number is always the same, no matter what life we are in. I assume it is the Goddess making things easier for us."

She bit her bottom lip as she thought, before shaking her head. "I don't believe you. If you answer a few questions correctly then I'll believe you."

She took the silence as an agreement. "What's my name?"

"Nix Somnium. Or, in this case, Tristis Memoria."

"How old am I?"

"Right now you are five hundred and seventeen years old. Meaning, seventeen in this life."

"Finally yet most secretive," She paused for a moment and looked around. No one was around to hear her so she quietly muttered, "What was my most embarrassing moment?"

"There was one life cycle of your's where you walked into Zack's room. Something strange had happened in the life stream which caused a mix up in their... sexual orientation... Him and Cloud that is."

"... Yeah... You hit the mark right there." She groaned, shaking her head to get the mental image out.

She heard his familiar deep rumbled chuckle and couldn't help but smile. "It's nice to hear from you again, old friend." She whispered nostalgically.

"And you too, young one." His tone of voice never really changed, but she could tell that he was content. He always was after facing his past. She, however, never really was truly content unless she was in the presence of him, Aerith or her SOLDIER friends. But even then, she still felt stress within her mind and the deepest darkest corner of her mind never got rid of the lurking problems no matter how hard she tried to do so."Nix. Do you have created a plan? Or should I come to Midgar?"

She hesitated, knowing the light, happy mood had drifted away and was replaced by a crushing serious atmosphere. "I don't have a proper plan... But leave the... _place_ alone. We will burn it together another time. I think we should confront him and make him understand who he is, rather than avoid it all together."

"Are you sure? This may be our last chance to do it peacefully without any worries from Turks or scientists."

"I'm positive. Come to Midgar and go to where the flowers grow yet the sun don't shine. Protect her from anyone while I figure it all out." She said, just thinking about it made her heart sink.

What is she gets it all wrong again? She could think of nothing but consequences and _what ifs_. She heard his distant, yet distict affirmative grunt. "Hey... Vincent..." Silence. "Does Chaos think I have a chance?"

The silence was growing uncomfortable, yet Tristis knew Vincent was thoughtfully thinking about how to say it. "He always had a brotherly... No, maybe even fatherly bond with you. I haven't heard from him since I have awoken, but I am certain he knows you have a chance, no matter how long it takes." Again, his tone didn't change... Yet Tristis could detect the hint of fondness from it.

"And Tristis."

"Hm?"

"Your physical body is of when you were younger. It takes time to adjust to your mind. Do not get frustrated if you can predict the movements of your opponent, yet cannot dodge it in time for the fault of your body. You are still growing... As long as you do your best, you can achieve anything. That is what I believe from you." He spoke softly and wisely, making her heart swell with pride. Their friendship was close and she even believed that if it not for their blood, they could be siblings.

She chuckled at the thought, smiling fondly as she felt tears threatening to appear. "You know me too well, Vincent... Thank you... It's nice to remember that someone is in the same situation as you." She whispered.

They said farewell before hanging up. She straightened herself and let out a relieved sigh. Her heart felt lighter all of a sudden and the _what ifs_ didn't cloud her mind so darkly. She gingerly took her cup from the counter (thankfully it was still warm) and entered the living room where her friends all looked up and assessed her. "Who was it?" Cloud asked quietly, yet curiousity dripped from every word.

"An old friend." She smiled before settling down on the couch beside Angeal and Sephiroth. "His name is Vincent Valentine. He's been my friend for a _long_ time."

Suddenly, she yawned, placed her cup on the table and kicked back to let her head lie on Angeal's lap who stiffened in shock. "Good night." She mumbled.

"Hey, no fair!" Zack called out. She heard some rustling and felt Sephiroth get up, yet his warmth was replaced with Zack's on her stomach and a yelp from Cloud as his head was pulled down onto Zack's.

"You guys look like a catepillar." Genesis snorted, no doubt standing to the side with Sephiroth while Angeal was forced to sit and shake his head at their immature behaviour (well, mostly Zack's).

"But we're an awesome catepillar!" Zack interjected.

After a few minutes, Sephiroth and Genesis decided to sit down on the floor with their backs against the couch. They all closed their eyes and let themselves rest with the Angel's tears warmth within their body. Tristis was sure Cloud and Zack had fallen asleep from the hard training they had in early morning. Genesis and Sephiroth took a little longer, but their quiet breathing was soon heard.

Angeal and Tristis was the last to fall asleep. Her brown hair was tickling his skin, giving him strange sensation. He gently brushed it aside, but felt it's velvet smoothness and found it... addicting. He caressed her cheek without his glove and found it amazingly soft too. He didn't know why, but it felt as if he was invading her privacy by doing this. Nonetheless, he couldn't stop himself. He began smoothing her hair and gazed at her serene expression. _She has definitely grown..._ He smiled with a slight red in his cheeks before closing his eyes and letting sleep claim him.

Tristis couldn't help but smile, feeling the warmth against her cheek and the soothing caress against her tresses of brown hair.

_Just do my best... huh? Yes... I'll do that...  
>For them...<em>

* * *

><p><em>By far this is my longest chapter, not including author's notes.<em>

_First thing, sorry for the big two year time skip, but if I hadn't done it, the story would of gotten boring._

_Secondly, if you don't understand certain points of the chapter, review me and I'll PM you back. Here are some things you might not understand:  
>Vincent knows her situation because he has Chaos within him and the Goddess somehow lets him and Aerith go back in time with Tristis.<br>The reason why Tristis gets angst over training with the hologram is because she believes she is not good enough and that she is weak. When really, she can process what the hologram is going to do (e.g where it's going to hit her, how to counter, etc) but he body is not processing it fast enough like her brain, therefore making it her disadvantage which frustrates her because she believes she needs to be the best to save her friends from their fated death.  
>By the 'place' and 'him' it refers to ShinRa mansion in Nibelheim and Sephiroth. Those who's played the game should understand what goes on there.<br>'Flowers grow where the sun don't shine' is Aerith's church._

**_Romance Spoiler?_**

_Yes, I managed to sneak in a bit of Angeal and Tristis moment at the end, although it's quite subtle. Yes, Genesis will try pair them up with the help of Zack and his crazy tatics later on in the story (I might add Reno into it too for the fun of it). And obviously, Tristis is the one who realises that she loves Angeal first because... Well, she's always loved Angeal thoughout her twenty four life cycles. Poor her!_

**_End Romance Spoiler?_**

_Thank you for reading and have a nice day!_

_-LoliMochi._


	14. Her Lullaby

_Hello my lovely readers,_

_I'm sorry for taking such a long time to write another chapter. I'm still doing school projects and things... ugh..._

_Anyways, I know this chapter won't be that great. If it's confusing, just keep reading and I'm sure you'll understand. It's supposed to flow into place like dreams usually do._

_Enjoy!_

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

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><p><strong>Chapter Ten<strong> - _Her Lullaby_

_They keep coming..._

The church was aged with ecrect gray pillars straining to keep the wooden roof up with cracks within the stones. Each had stories of saddness and happiness for as long as anyone in the slums could remember. The wooden pews were finely made of the darkest wood ever seen, yet still held it's familiar stereotypical brown hue to it. They were lined slightly slanted in two collums leaving a walkway through the middle. The stained windows of crimson and lemon gave little light, unlike the large hole in the roof that directed sunlight to a small patch of flowers. Wooden floorboards were sprawled around as if someone had purposely removed them to let the patch of yellow, white and scarlet flowers grow. There was an altar further back, yet dusty unlike the pews.

_Sometimes I wish for it to never stop..._

Her eyelids slowly fluttered up, revealing the lush green of her eyes. She took in every little detail of the church- of her home. Atleast it was once her home. It still had that homely feel to it, like it was welcoming a child in a mother's embrace. She gently brushed her finger tips along the pews as she walked down the aisle. She felt no dust against her skin, but heard the familiar footsteps of her own barefeet against the wooden floor boards.

It was so serene that she could feel the happiness swelling within her just from walking around in this church. She didn't understand why it was in the slums. It was so majestic to be in Sector 5. Despite what some people had said, the place could support the living needs for flowers. Midgar was never a place for plants as the mako reactors always leave the soil barren. Yet, she and Aerith had managed to grow some.

She saw Aerith kneeling by the flowers in her blue singlet with a matching pink camisole barely shown underneath and a matching blue and white knee-length skirt. She wore white wedges with pink straps. and a very familiar pink ribbon in her brown hair. Tristis could never cease to notice how similar they looked. Their hair and their eyes were identical although it was obvious Triss's was longer and more wavy than curled.

Next to Aerith was a strange metallic wolf. It had Angeal's head grafted onto the body and it was rather mutated- even considered as ugly to most. It's back was segmented into different parts of metal, giving it a spinal effect with a large white wing protruding from it's upper right back and a smaller version on the left. It had golden outlines against certain parts of it's metallic body and jet black eyes. To Tristis, this was nothing but a majestic creature.

The wolf looked up slowly with twitching triangular ears and got closer until it finally reached her side to settle down comfortably. Her cousin looked up and smiled fondly as if she knew Triss would come here sooner or later.

_But it never will..._

Tristis gently smiled back, but felt something tugging her. She reluctantly let her eyes close and felt herself fall back, yet there was no familiar feeling of wood against her back nor no lovely smell of floral. She could hear whispering voices calling out to her. Sometimes they would repeat her name like a mantra, but most of it was just a jumble of words.

_"Save..."  
>"Weapon..."<br>"...Life stream..."  
>"Time..."<br>"Death..."  
>"Memento mori..."<em>

"Triss!" Her eyes snapped open when she heard the banging of glass.

Her vision was blurred by a green-blue liquid and she felt herself drifting helplessly. Her hands were against her heart one ontop of the other. Her chocolate hair dancing amongst the liquid and bubbles that exited from her oxygen mask. Her skin prickled from the substance burning against her except for the bandages that not so modestly covered her femine mysteries.

"Triss, look at me!" The voice came again.

She focused on the strange peach marking against the glass and soon found herself staring into the familiar blue-green eyes of a SOLDIER.

_... Zack...?_

"I'm going to come and get you out, okay? It's going to be really loud, but don't be scared. I'll catch you." She nodded and waited.

_BANG_. She didn't know what he used, but he managed to break the glass of the cylinder she was held in which sent her body rushing forward like the wave of mako. She felt familiar brotherly arms around her shivering body and relaxed only slightly.

_I want to keep running..._

"Can you walk?"

She nodded slowly as she managed to stand up straight. Zack encouraged her with a smile before grabbing her hand and tugging to forward, "Let's run for it."

They rushed forward, although Tristis was slightly weaker causing Zack to practically pull her faster with her bare feet pitter patting against the tiles while his combat boots clomped and made small dirt marks while her's just left small evidence of water droplets.

Cloud was inside a similiar room as her's... A lab. He was more effected by the mako, making him unresponsive and in a trance. "Let's keep going." Zack grunted as he uncomfortably hefted Cloud onto his right shoulder.

They ran to what seemed like forever. But they weren't alone. Soon, the Turks began to follow them, firing at them to see if they could take them down. The white corridor just wouldn't end no matter how long they've ran.

In the corner of her emerald eyes she saw a bullet zip past her ear and straight into Zack's back. "ZACK!" She screamed as he fell along yet her body could not stop at their speed and she ended up skidding a few moments later to stop herself. She watched in horror as he struggled to get up and found herself lunging forward to protect him and Cloud from getting hit. "NO!"

_But... That would be bad... Wouldn't it?_

A bright white flash of light blinded her sight and her vision was slowly gained back, only to see cat-like eyes glaring at her.

"S-Sephiroth?" She gasped.

He growled before pushing her back, his long masamune gleamed in the light as it malevolently directed at her. She felt the dreaded weight within her hands and found herself weidling her own weapon of death. It was her scythe in all it's former glory. "Please, don't-"

_I don't want to fight..._

He lunged at her with such power and speed that she couldn't even flinch as masamune struck her. She didn't feel any pain, only numbness around her abdomen. Her eyes widened in weak horror when the scene suddenly morphed.

She had no wound on her physically, yet felt her heart constrict from knowing the wound was inflicted by a friend. She stood in the life steam. The wisps of green-white flowing surrounding her in it's purity.

_"Even if the morrow is barren of promises  
>Nothing shall forestall my return..."<em>

"Genesis?" She called out, turning sharply around to search for him. "Genesis? Where are you?"

"Nix." A voice called out from behind her.

The voice was gentle and very familiar. It was masculine, soothing and loving... Sometimes she wondered if she'll ever hear enough of it. One thing was for sure, she'd never get sick of it. She'd never get sick of _him_.

"Angeal..." She whispered, feeling his arms envelope her and her back pressed against his chest.

It was silent... It was peaceful. For a moment, she felt her fears melting away. She lived for this moment. She needed this moment. "Monster!" A voice hissed and his warmth suddenly vanished.

In panic, she turned to grab whatever she could of him, only to grasp his white feather. The tears immediately stung her eyes, "No! He's not a monster!" She screamed at no one, yet she knew someone was listening.

_I just don't want to be alone..._

* * *

><p>Tritis sat up instantly, feeling sweat soaking into her night dress. Her body was so cold, yet she was heaving as if she had ran a hundred laps around the ShinRa training grounds. She was trembling with tears spilling down her cheeks. <em>It was just a dream...<em> She thought, yet the dream kept replaying in her head over and over again... Tormenting her with such cruelty she had experienced for so long. She just couldn't assure herself and soon reached over to get her phone. The first thing she did was dial the first contact on her 'most recent' list.

_Ring... Ring... Ring...Click._

"Hello?" The voice groggily greeted.

She took in a few deep breathes to calm herself down before speaking. "G-Gen?"

"Triss?" Genesis asked before hearing a small click (most likely from turning on the light to his alarm clock). "Why are you calling me at this hour? It's two in the morning if you haven't checked." He grumbled.

Tristis always knew Genesis wasn't the best person to call at night or early morning. He would be cranky for the rest of the day when woken up. The young man loved his sleeping time and to be disturbed from it was certain death to others. Yet Tristis was glad to hear his voice, still proud and strong even when battling drowsiness. "I... I just wanted to hear your voice..." She whispered, curling herself up and holding the phone like a life-line.

There was an eerie silence in which she understood was his time of thinking. "What happened?" His voice suddenly soft and caring like an older brother.

"I had a nightmare." She said. Just thinking about it brought tears to her eyes. "It was... I just..." Tristis suddenly felt so childish for getting upset over something she'd experienced over and over again. She should have been used to it, yet her trembles still came and she let a small sniffle be heard.

"Are you afraid?"

She made a small affirmative noise as she nodded. "Where's the others? Are they asleep too?"

"Yeah. Angeal and Zack have gone on a mission in Kalm. Sephiroth and Cloud are at Junon. Do you want me to put them into the conversation?"

"No. It's... It's okay..."

The silence settled in once again. She felt chilly and dived back into her covers, snuggling herself as close as the wall as possible with the phone still pressed to her ear. She sniffled again (not knowing whether it was from crying or from the cold) and waited for Genesis to speak.

"Triss."

"Yes?"

"Do you remember from when we were younger? You could get sleepy really easily and you always needed to take a nap."

"Y-Yes." She squeaked, blushing slightly from the memories.

He chuckled, a bit of sleepiness still laced within his poetic voice, "I would always read to you before you slept. Angeal would have to carry you back home all the time. Sometimes you would never let go of him. There was one time where he had to carry you on his back for almost three hours."

"Can you read to me again?" She paused, hearing him chuckle again. "It always calmed me down..."

"Alright. Close your eyes and just listen to my voice. Don't you dare complain about the literature I'll be reading out or I'll hang up."

She did as she was told and Tristis listened as he began reciting LOVELESS (as obvious as that was). It was a nostalgic feeling... Listening to him as she felt her energy being washed away only to have a warm loving feeling replaced within. His musical voice lulled her to sleep and she felt herself drifting off...

"Good night Tristis." Genesis whispered.

"Night Gen..." She replied drowsily before they both hung up.

_I'm not alone anymore..._

* * *

><p><em>As you have read, this was supposed to be a nightmare (or a bunch of memories morphed together) that Tristis's has. I wasn't really aiming for a romantic atmosphere (although it might seem so) between Tristis and Genesis. This was meant to show that Genesis does have a kind side (before he found out he was an experiment and etc) and that he has a brotherly or best friend feeling towards Tristis whom looks up to him a lot.<em>

_I'm not so sure what inspired me to start writing this chapter. It's not really important with the plot... Ugh, I should start focusing more on the plot now, right? Sorry. I listened to Hikari -PLANITb remix- and Aerith's theme. I guess watching Kingdom Heart openings also gave me a lot of inspiration too... Hmm..._

_Also a huge thank you for xseikax for being really helpful with Genesis's personality and clarifying it for me so Genesis won't seem so OOC in my story. As Tristis (or even Cloud) would say, "You're an angel!"_

_Thank you for reading and have a nice day!_

_-Lolimochi._


	15. He Is The Monster

_Hello, my lovely readers._

_I'm sorry to say that this chapter wasn't that great because introducing Hojo gets me moody... Or he just doesn't want to co-operate... Either way, I didn't really enjoy writing this chapter but I hope you enjoy reading this._

_Enjoy!_

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven <strong>- _He Is The Monster_

Genesis and Tristis never talked about her nightmare when the others came back. Genesis _hated_ not knowing things, but he didn't have the heart to ask her to remember it all. She had never cried before even as a child. Maybe it's because she had nothing to cry about or maybe it was because she had a strong willed persona (he preferred the latter). Something about Genesis wished he didn't depend on her, but he felt as if he constantly (and unconciously) did... She had this strong aura emitting from her, like she had faced through everything and came out alright. If he found _her_ broken over something then there was no way anyone else could pull through. So when he got the phone call that night, hearing her sniffle and show her insecurities made him feel guilty. There was no way he could keep ignoring the fact that she had her feared moments and that she couldn't be the pillar of strength he had seen in her all the time.

During their two years being reunited in ShinRa, she had told him about how she had met her other friends, Zack and Cloud. He could tell that Cloud admired her like he admired the first class SOLDIERs. Zack had that feeling too although he didn't show it as much as he did to Angeal (maybe all those speeches for honor and dreams had finally pummeled his mind into a pile of mushed bits and pieces), but it was still there.

To keep her secret was rather hard for him. He suddenly hated it how everyone looked at her like nothing could faze her. Because beneath her benevolent emerald gaze, there was hidden emotions she had tucked away. He wondered if anyone noticed that she needed someone to lean against too. It comforted him to know that she could count on him but who else did she have? Did she even want to tell him if it weren't as bad as he had presumed it was? He knew she had many secrets and he hated that. Throughout the years, she had only given them vague answers for vital questions like whom had trained her to fight so well. "A mentor and myself." she had said but she never mentioned a name no matter how hard they tried.

She was a broken good trying to piece itself together.

* * *

><p>"Professor Hojo will be coming back from Bone Village." Sephiroth informed him and Angeal when they were seated inside the General's office.<p>

The cinnamon haired man looked up, slightly concerned and slightly angered. "Two years pass by fast." He commented dryly. "What was he doing in that place anyways?"

"I do not know." Sephiroth said as he typed on the computer.

"Does he know about Tristis?" Angeal asked, his forehead creased with worry.

Sephiroth's typing slowed to a stop, staring blankly at the screen as if to unveil some sort of mystery. He slowly turned in his chair to stair at them both, a flicker of emotion ran across his cat-like eyes. Regret maybe. "Yes. Some of the scientists emailed him her reports and he was..." He hesitated. "Intrigued..."

"And what is he planning to do with her?" Genesis growled, "She's already got mako in her body, Goddess knows how, but she doesn't need any injections which is the only thing Hojo is _supposed_ to do to SOLDIERs."

Angeal was stiff and worried but tried to stay composed. "Genesis, calm down."

"Hojo has somehow wealsed his way into asking the president for an interview with her. To collect more data about her because her profile still hasn't been updated since her time as her male counterpart."

He saw Angeal grip the arm rests of his seat and kept his mouth in a thin line before standing up and nodding. "Will someone stay with her?"

"It is for Lazard to agree and her to decide."

The day had passed without Tristis anywhere. The only thing she had left was a text.

_"I'm checking something out. I won't be at ShinRa for the whole day. I'll see you all tomorrow."_

Zack had tried calling her, but her phone was turned off. He was even determined to go looking all throughout Midgar for her just to warn her about Hojo. But Cloud and Angeal had managed to coax him into training and letting her do what she wanted. Tristis was going to be boxed up in a room with only Hojo and probably a Turk. If they caged her inside ShinRa, then that would make it more harder for her.

* * *

><p>By the time morning came, Tristis was already gone from her apartment and inside the interview room. Cloud had classes while Zack had to reluctantly help Lazard for something. Sephiroth couldn't keep her company because of his paper work so only Genesis and Angeal could look through the one-way mirror.<p>

The room was white and for some reason, it made Tristis look much more pale.

_Is she nervous? _Genesis thought.

Tristis was sitting on a metal chair with a table and chair opposite her. An unknown Turk stood by the corner as they waited for Professor Hojo. She looked calm with her hands laying ontop of the other on the metalic table. But when Hojo came in, she became rigid for a moment before settling back into her facade. Hojo sat infront of her with greasy black hair, wrinkled face and glasses.

"Hello Miss Memoria." He spoke with a sickeningly sweet, carefree tone.

"Professor Hojo." She nodded.

He began piling some sheets of paper along the desk before looking straight at her. "I've seen your report that you have a substantial amount of mako in your body."

"Yes."

"How did you get it?" His voice suddenly became professional and cold.

"I don't know."

"That doesn't seem to be the truth."

"Then maybe I was born with it."

"That's rather unique." Hojo said, a spark of curiousity flashed into his stormy gray eyes.

"I suppose it is."

"Who taught you to fight, hm? It says in your report as a cadet that you were an exceptional fighter. You had skills in almost every weapon you used."

"A man."

He kept asking her questions in which Tristis gave him vague and almost useless answers to them. She still looked calm with no hint of irritation, maybe even sleepiness. Hojo, however, they could read like a book. He was quickly losing paitence with her deliberate one word answers.

"Why did you join SOLDIER? Girls usually want to stay at home and do... house work." Hojo sneered, writing something on his clipboard as he waited for her to answer.

"I want to save..." She paused as she thought of an appropriate way to somehow change the subject. "People... Like how SOLDIERs should..."

"It's nice to have unreachable dreams, hm?"

She twitched. It was a noticable, irritated twitch of her hand and eye. She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth before trying to state evenly, "I don't think it's unreachable. If I try hard enough, it'll be within my grasp."

The scientist ignored her with a small hum, like he was talking to a child. It made her blood boil. She was _not_ a child - far from it infact. She had to endure answering questions that she wanted to keep to herself. Being around scientists never helped Tristis. It made her more angry and sometimes, even blood thirsty. Her fists were shaking, wanting to feel the sound of it colliding with Hojo's cheek and to hear a nice _crack_ disturb the silence within the room.

He flipped through some papers, sometimes sneering or nodding with approvement. She knew exactly what he was thinking... Exactly... As the ideas were running through his head, she could practically see the images flickering around within her. It was disturbing, blood boiling and beyond disgusting just thinking about it. "I would like to use you for some research." Hojo stated, looking straight into her eyes.

Her skin prickled with fear and anger. "What?" She hissed.

"If I do some research on you, you could become stronger and let some females within SOLDIER. You want to save people? I'm sure I can formulate something to help you." He was lying through his teeth.

Yes, he did want research. But for a completely different reason. Memories began flowing through her mind in flashes. She thought about Vincent, his old lover Lucrecia (he had given her specific details and even showed her the cave of which she settled in), Cloud, Zack, Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal. "No." She stated, her eyes darkening from the bright emerald to the dark forest green.

"By the looks of your reports... Talented in combat, beautiful and filled with mako... You'd be perfect." His mouth twitched upwards. It wasn't a smile. It was a sinister, disgusting grin that mad men did. "My my, you'd make the perfect monster."

Tristis saw red.

In such speed, she lunged at him, shoving the table away to let the papers rain down. The Turk inside the room couldn't even react by the time Tristis's fist collided at Hojo's face much like how she wished so. She heard a loud bone-chilling crack and felt warm liquid against her knuckles. Hojo toppled to the floor with a loud cry of pain while Tristis stood, her shadow looming over his feeble state.

"That was for my friends." She growled. "I don't make deals with the devil. So stop playing God and go _die_." Her voice was hard, cold and frightening. Her eyes were slanted into a deathly glare with glowing green within. She looked at him for a long time, with the Turk in the corner shocked. She then made a face potraying how disgusting Hojo was to her before walking out of the room.

Angeal and Genesis had ran out of the one-way mirror room to go see Tristis. They were shocked to see her so angered... She looked as if she was ready to kill the scientist (not that Genesis would complain). When they found her a few metres away from the door, Angeal grabbed her arm in which she shoved aside roughly.

"Don't touch me!" She screamed, but when she looked up she saw him and she immediately deflated. Guilt, rage, regret and all sorts of emotions swirling within her beautiful eyes.

"Triss-"

"Angeal, just..." She pushed his hand away again sounding defeated and ashamed. "Just... don't..." She whispered.

But the dark haired man just grabbed her and pulled her into an embrace despite her pushing herself against him, whining at him to let go. He just stroked her hair, placing his chin against her head in attempt to calm her down. Genesis stood beside them, knowing Angeal could pacify her without any trouble but he mentally wanted to choke Hojo for making her become such a wreck like the night she had called him.

She did as she released some shaky breaths. "There are reasons why I have secrets."

"We know." Angeal replied. "You'll tell us when you're ready."

" I will. I promise you I will." She fell silent as she wrapped her arms around him, knowing she'd find comfort within his embrace.

She heard Genesis snort before speaking, "By the way, thanks for punching Hojo for me. Maybe you should have punched him harder."

She softly laughed and nodded but her heart felt heavy all over again. Things were already falling into place and she was scared that she couldn't shatter the cycle in time.

She was a broken good trying to pick up the pieces...

* * *

><p><em>I told you this wasn't a great chapter... Sigh...<em>

_Professor Hojo will be causing many more troubles for Tristis and her friends (on which I will start planning on now) and I will somehow make the story progress faster because it's not really story-driven right now, isn't it?_

_Somehow I'll make it go faster. Do you think Tristis should tell someone about her time-travelling power? If so, who and why?  
>It'll definitely help me progress the story.<em>

_Thank you for reading and have a good day!_

_-Lolimochi._


	16. Bonus Chapter 4

_Hello my readers,_

_I have no idea how the heck I came up wih this chapter, nor how ridiculously bad I think it turned out... Sigh... I think it's because I'm just so tired. I'll be writing a Tristis X Cloud one-shot for my friend because it's her birthday. IT IS NOT PART OF THE STORY. So if any of you guys read it, don't misunderstand, Tristis will go with Angeal and the situation I'll write about will have nothing (or almost nothing) to do with this story, Twenty Five._

_I hope you enjoy reading this chapter._

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

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><p><strong>Memory Chapter 4 <strong>- _Kindred Souls_

They had some sort of silent pact. It was between the three of them and if one died then it would be only the two of them. It was like some sort of timeline and ironically, they knew had an idea of what would happen.

Nix was an orphan with loving parents whom adopted her because they could not produce their own offspring. They had found her in a bundle of blankets on their doorstep with a piece of paper crumpled within the baby's hand. _"Please take care of our baby."_ The note had said.

They did take care of her and they loved her dearly. They loved her so much that they packed all their things and began travelling to let Nix see the whole world because they certainly had enough money to do so and her father was the 'jack of all trades' so he could do almost anything to get money.

But when Nix wanted her parents to settle down again and live comfortably in a cottage anywhere in the country view, her parents agreed. They knew Nix had a lot of dreams she wished to accomplish but could not if she were to stick with them. They let her go to Midgar at a very tender age of fifteen, even if many of their family friends protested that she was far too young. Nix was naive, yes, but they knew that she could survive.

It was then that Nix had met Aerith. She was drawn to a church in the slums and found that she could not help but chatter with the girl amongst the flowers. At a young age, Nix too, loved flowers and their bond just clicked into something like a chain. They had noticed how similiar they looked to each other yet didn't question it. Nix knew the kind-hearted flower girl was a cetra. She just didn't know she was one too.

She was Aerith's cousin. The reason why they looked quite similar was because her mother was the twin sister of Aerith's mother. Even though they did get several traits from their fathers, they were practically the same.

Yet how Nix didn't know that was unfathomable. Maybe it was because she didn't know her birth parents or maybe it was because she had met (and was distracted) by the love of her life, Angeal Hewley or Aerith's mirth when it came to her boyfriend, Zack Fair. Maybe it was because she had met the most amazing people of her life like her three other friends, Cloud Strife, General Sephiroth and Genesis Rhapsodos.

Or maybe it was because she had finally realised that people could die at any moment.

She had ventured with Zack to go to Nibelheim because she was the naive flower girl whom thought she could talk to Genesis. To make him come back. She didn't realise that Sephiroth was having the same problem too. It was too late to talk to the General because words were useless when you're hanging onto dear life - hanging onto that thin, thin thread that would break in any moment.

It was too late to talk to Zack after being an experiment for four years with a unresponsive Cloud to protect too. What was she going to say to make him stop? He was a hero and if a hero could not live like one then they could die like one. But being shot down like some disgusting fiend by what used to be your comrades was not what she thought as a heroic death.

Knowing that you had to kill a precious friend once again did not improve her life at all. She had met new friends on the journey to save Gaia, of course. But Aerith was one of the ones she could not leave alone.

Vincent was one of them too. He had something inside of him and he had the sorrowful aura around him just like she had. She had no idea why Aerith didn't seem so sad about it as her... She had wondered whether or not it was because she could hear them within the life stream for she was a cetra. She wanted to ask her, but it seemed awfully offensive, especially since it was a touchy subject between them.

Vincent wasn't as eager to create a friendly bond between them but he did share some details about himself. They had this mutual understanding which Nix wasn't prepared to destroy from mistrust so she told him everything she could about herself and poured all her emotions within them. Why? Because she was naive and at that time, she was frightened.

When Aerith died (by her own friend's hands), her life just crumbled into debris. She only had one link to her past and that was Cloud. She was determined to protect him yet she felt so powerless too. Because who had to fight the last remenants of Jenova? Him. Who saved people from Geostigma? He did. And who couldn't save anyone, resulting in Cloud having to save himself or with the help of others like Tifa? Herself.

And as time progressed (or in her case, rewinded), she felt it hard to keep her original persona within her. She had changed from the naive flower girl to a tired, useless woman whom never experienced more than the age of twenty five. She was breaking apart at each failed attempt and literally couldn't take it anymore. Aerith's comfort was not enough because in the end, she would sacrafice herself to save the world yet again. The bond between them was straining because Nix was pulling too hard to reach the other's from snapping.

It was then that Vincent came in and pushed them back together. He had kept it a secret, Goddess knows why, but he was also cursed to repeat his life again and again. And when he saw how depressed Nix had become he had the urge to let her see that her intentions were not useless. For he had broken through his remorse and guilt for letting Lucrecia become what she had. He didn't know why, maybe it was the slow, yet budding friendship growing between her and him, but he wanted her to see the light that he had seen.

He had become the father figure and the lock of their trio relationship. Everyone had lost someone, yet Nix could only selfishly focus on her own loss. But the comfort from Aerith and the harsh, yet truthful words of Vincent had made her come to her senses. Aerith spilled the secret that Nix was also a half-cetra (in which Nix didn't find surprising because she had begun hearing voices from nowhere) and decided to teach Nix the ways of a cetra (which she had learnt from her mother).

They used the time as their advantage. Nix had trained herself to use swords and that was much more difficult because she had no one to mentor her, unlike in the ways of a Turk or martial artist. They trained their skills, memorised the certain dates of events that lead to the almost death of Gaia and searched out more answers to somehow use to their advantage. But sometimes, it never worked. Some things they tried had led to a worse situation than the original. Especially when they tried to kill Hojo at the start. It had caused a major riot within the world and ShinRa had tried to kill off all the problems it presented, resulting in casualities to both sides. It was unfortunate and even horrific, but this was all just 'guess and check'.

Their mission was simple. To save the five men from their cruel fates because that was how the cycle always started. The pact was simple too. They liked to think of themselves as the warriors of time (or was it just Nix?).

Nix Somnium was the past, Aerith Gainsborough was the present and Vincent Valentine was the future. If Nix failed then Aerith would rectify the wrongs of the past and if that couldn't eliminate the threat of the present then Vincent had to ensure the future would be safe before they retreated into the past again to prepare for the endless cycle.

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><p><em>I warned you, it was bad. Atleast, I think it was. But anyways, this chapter was just an insight of Tristis's past and a vague introduction to how Vincent came into this. I think I'm getting a cold now... Sheesh...<em>

_Thank you for reading and have a nice day!_

_-Lolimochi._


	17. Bonus Chapter 5

_Hello everyone._

_I know I haven't been writing any new (story-driven) chapters x_x I'm currently writing chapter twelve (haha, my favorite number!) which will be a bit of romance between Angeal and Tristis._

_Now about this chapter, I actually have no idea why, but I felt the urge to write a memory chapter more into Denzel's point of view about Tristis and how frustrated he might have seemed during the time he had gotten geostigma. He might seem OOC, but I think children who feel scared will usually lash out their anger (of how unfair a situation is) at an adult or someone they care for because they think they won't get effected or they don't understand. (I think of this because when I was younger, I've done it before and I have a young friend who does it to me too). Does Denzel think of Tristis as a crush, sister or best friend? That's for you to decide._

_I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!_

_I do not own anything to do with Final Fantasy VII (That right goes to Square Enix), I only own the original character, Tristis Memoria/Nix Somnium and the twists added to the plot._

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><p><strong>Memory Chapter 5 <strong>– _Guardian Angel_

Denzel had lost things and he had gained things.

That was life.

He had parents- two pairs in fact. One was his biological parents with the shared genes and everything. He had his mother's pair of eyes and his father's brunette hair... He had lost them, but he had gained the other pair... Cloud and Tifa.

Tifa fitted the mother role as perfectly as his own mother did. She was kind and she had this aura that immediately told him that he'd be fine in her presence.

Cloud was different from the father figure every child had in mind. He was always going off somewhere, his to-do list (if he ever had one) would be filled with deliveries or beating up bad people. He wasn't the typical father to stay at home and teach him things, or even have the 'father-son' talk. Maybe it was because Cloud was still considered young compared to other fathers so therefore he was inexperienced. But Denzel didn't care because Cloud was still his dad. He was estastic to have a dad like him! He was so strong and everyone respected him.

Denzel had a little sister named Marlene too. She was adopted by a man named Barret but lived with Tifa, Cloud and him for safety because Barret was "never the one to sit still." as Tifa pointed out. She was sweet and innocent. Her childish, fragile appearance made everyone want to protect her. Yet Marlene was very insightful when it came to things like someone's mood. She knew when to leave Denzel alone or when to come close and comfort him. She must have learnt it from Tifa, because that's what Tifa did with Cloud all the time.

The other person that lived with them in Seventh Heaven was Tristis Memoria. She was a bit like the aunt since she was Cloud's best friend, almost like an older sister. When Tifa was too busy with the bar, Tristis would look after Marlene and him upstairs and if things were really busy, she'd go downstairs and help Tifa. Most of the time Marlene would sleep, so it was usually just him and her.

They would lie down on his bed, sometimes reading a book in silence and sometimes talking. He was proud to say he had made her laugh a couple of times and to see her smile all because of him. But her smiles always had a hint of saddness, her eyes never twinkled as brightly as Tifa's when she laughed and her laugh was far too short all the time. But she was a good friend nonetheless. She stayed with him when no one else could. It was embarrassing to say (especially since he had reached puberty and no longer thought like a child) but he considered her as a guardian angel because she was always there for everyone in their worst times.

When Cloud broke down or had nightmares of the past (that he never explained to Denzel), Tristis was the first one to snap him out of it and comfort him. When Tifa get upset over Cloud leaving for long periods of time, Tristis would be there with a cup of hot tea and a listening ear. When Marlene came back crying with a dirty dress and grazes on her knees from falling over, Tristis would be there with a first aid kit and a clean dress.

When Denzel had gotten geostigma, Tristis was there. She stayed with him and even helped him style his hair so that it covered his geostigma. At first, he was irritated to have her following him around, treating him like a kid when he definitely was not one (in his mind atleast). He really hated it when someone pitied him, especially from Tristis. She seemed to pity _everyone_. It was the look in her emerald eyes, always darkening with saddness and sympathy.

"Stop looking at me like that!" He shouted all of a sudden when they were sitting on his bed and she was giving him _that_ look.

She looked at him strangely, but with a hint of concern as she patted her white dress flat and placed her thick, old book on her lap. "Like what?"

"Like _that_!" He pointed at her directly in her eyes and she pulled back to make sure she wouldn't get hurt.

"Denzel, I don't understand." She said gently, slowly pushing his arm down.

"I'm not weak." His tone still slightly hostile and angered.

She seemed shocked at his statement, which made him bristle. "I know you aren't."

"Then why do you keep acting like I'm a baby? I don't need to be followed all the time!"

"I just get worried." She tried reaching out to grasp his shoulder, but he shrugged it off and scrowled at her.

"Why do you care? There's no cure for this, Triss! I'm going to die anyways!"

She leapt up, grasping him and shaking his body with a slight desperation. "Don't say that, Denzel! There will be a cure and you're not going to die! I know how it feels like, but-"

He cut her off, "No you don't! You don't know what it feels like to lose people in your life! You get all the good things and you just look down on the others!"

Denzel was expecting her to retaliate with harsh words, like how Tifa did to Cloud when they had their little arguments. But instead, Tristis looked as if she was deflating and her eyes became hollow. He felt a pang of regret for saying such mean things. She suddenly looked weak, much more weaker than Cloud or Tifa when they were sad. He saw someone else... _This is not Tristis..._ He thought in shock.

His only excuse for being so angry was that he was scared. He didn't want to die and he certainly wanted to wake up to another day to pester Cloud into letting him ride his motorcycle atleast once and get rejected again. Yet he was horrified with himself for letting out all his frustrations on someone caring like Tristis and making her become _this_. He couldn't even let words form as he tried to apologise.

"I'm sorry." She whispered before briskly walking out of the room.

The first thing that happened the next morning, after a fitful sleep, Denzel had woken up and went down to eat breakfast with the others. To his shock, Tristis was not there and Marlene was giving him a disapproving glare. "That was mean of you!" She huffed as he sat across from her.

"What?"

Marlene pouted, "I heard everything last night. That was mean of you to talk to Triss like that!"

He felt another dagger of guilt slash at his heart and he winced. "I didn't mean it."

"I know you didn't, Denzel." A woman's voice said.

The two children turned to see Tifa entering the room with a sad smile. Her long brown hair was slightly wet, probably from a morning shower and she was wearing her usual black attire. "I could hear you from across the hallway." She explained before Denzel could give Marlene a glare (because he had thought she was the one who spilled the beans). Tifa sat down at the table, looking carefully at him. "Tristis cares a lot about you, Denzel. She's very scared you know."

Denzel nodded solemnly, feeling rather pathetic at himself for letting his anger get the best of him last night. "She has lost a lot of friends when she was younger." Tifa explained softly. "The only one left from her childhood is Cloud."

"What happened to the rest?" He whispered, as if the subject was taboo (little did he know, it rather was).

"Her parents went back to the life stream years ago with her friends too."

Again, Denzel winced at the thought. He was mentally beating himself up for saying that she had all the good things. Now he knew that her past was much worse than his. He had only lost his parents, but she had lost a lot of people from her life. If he lost Marlene and his school friends, he'd probably have gone depressed. "She wants to make sure she doesn't lose anyone else, that's why she's always around."

The first thing Denzel did to Tristis was apologise. He was stuttering like a fool (and even cried) but Tristis understood and gave him a tight hug. "I'll protect you until it's my time to go." She whispered to him.

She was there for the whole time. Far past the cure of geostigma and the time when the AVALANCHE team had to pick up their weapons once again to save the world yet again (although this time Vincent did most of the work), she was still there. When her birthday came along, they held a huge party and Denzel was proud to know that he was the one who made Triss smile the most at that time. Her laugh was merry and unfortunely short. But everyone had fun, Cid even tried to sneak a bit of alcohol for him, but Tifa's 'mother sense' found out and swiped the drink away.

He had fallen asleep peacefull that night. It had been a good day and all was right. Strangely, Denzel dreamed of Tristis. She had a pair of white feathered wings, her long brown hair trailing down her back in a stream-like fashion. They were in a field of flowers, all colored differently. The air smelled minty and fresh and the sky was baby blue like a crisp autumn morning. She had turned herself slightly, just enough to see the side of her face. She was smiling. It didn't make any sense, but Denzel felt it was the saddest yet _happiest_ smile he'd ever seen her make. Then, she slowly turned away and began walking, her wings flapping slightly. The feahers floated like snow and mixed with the petals as the breeze picked us. The last thing he saw was her waving and the breeze of feathers, flower petals and the life stream enveloping her.

_"It's my time to go..."_ Her voice mingled with the voice of many others, yet it was strong and determined.

_"You are strong, Denzel. Never forget that."_

He felt something soft brush against his forehead, before the warmth disappeared and his guardian angel flew free.

* * *

><p><em>I think by the end of the chapter, Denzel would have been a teenager, atleast fifteen I think. I'm just guessing.<em>

_Anyways, I'm still feeling sick and I have a speech coming up soon... Sigh... I still haven't worked on my friend's birthday present (the Cloud X Tristis one-shot) and her birthday has already past. Blaaah, how horrible of me... _

_I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and have a good day!_

_-Lolimochi._


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